A Different Beginning
by OfPensandSwords
Summary: Things happen differently the night that Voldemort attacks the Potters. It is a different beginning with similar consequences.
1. Chapter 1

Lily was on the couch beside James, holding his hand and resting her head on his shoulder. He was reading a book and lightly stroking her hand with his thumb. She had just put Harry down to bed and was relishing in the quiet. The little boy was rambunctious. At one year old he had already learned to run and had made it his mission to terrorize the family cat. It didn't help that Harry showed such an aptitude for magic.

Lily marvelled at how her son was using magic constantly. Harry's ability for magic also made Dumbledore's eyes light up. She remembered how when Dumbledore originally met Harry, Harry had changed his robes from blue to pink with flowers which exactly matched the curtains on the window. Lily had been mortified but Dumbledore and James had just laughed loudly. Dumbledore had later said, as he watched Harry levitate his toys, that he had rarely seen such a large amount of raw magic used in such a small amount of time, and with such purpose. Of course, it was to the purpose of a one-year old whose main objective was discovery and play, but the purpose was still there. James, of course, puffed his chest at such praise.

James was incredibly proud of his son's magic and was certain that Harry was destined to be the greatest wizard in history. Lily was more concerned at just being able to stop the house from collapsing than Harry's grand future. Her little boy was levitating objects as he wanted them, was making things disappear and reappear at will, he would start little tornados or fires in the house when he was upset and would be constantly changing her sofa cushions into animals like birds and mice. Sometimes when he was happy he would start emitting a soft heat and glow faintly. He mostly did this when she or James held him but had done it for Sirius as well when he visited.

Thinking of Sirius made her equal parts worried and frustrated. Worried because he was family and like a brother to her and her husband, and at this moment he was out fighting a dangerous war against a powerful dark wizard. She worried for the entire order. They were out there risking their lives every day. Some had given their lives, like Gideon and Fabian or Dorcas Meadowes or Edgar Bones and his family. They were fighting for liberty, for equality, and for people like her who were muggle born. And that was the crux of the other emotion. She wanted to be with them, to have their back and to help protect them. She wanted to fight for her rights to magic like they were, but thoughts of her little black-haired green-eyed boy, who was sleeping peacefully upstairs, tempered this emotion. Her frustration at being left out was overruled by her desire to protect her son. She understood that her greatest fight was here in this house. Making sure that the terrible prophecy that started this mess never came to fruition.

Her husband was a bit different and although he understood that he was needed here, he had a harder time tempering his emotions on the subject. There had been a few fights at the start of their time in hiding that had strained their relationship. It was so hard for her brave and loyal husband to be left behind while others fought on the front line, to protect them. They had gone back and forth on the subject and he had been so close to leaving at one point a few months after they went into hiding. But his love for them had persevered through his frustrations.

He had calmed down some since then, but she could see that old frustration swell up at certain times, especially after Order meetings when they would learn a bit more about the outside world. She could see the frustration on his face as they left meetings and would know that he would be moody that entire night. It was rare that her man, or herself for that matter, were so calm and happy like they were at the moment.

The frustration was one thing, but the stress of hiding was another. It kept them on edge and she had noticed that her husband was showing signs of premature ageing. There was also the quiet fear. Voldemort was out there, he wants their son dead. She remembered the cold dread she had felt as Dumbledore explained to them and the Longbottoms the prophecy how they had to go into hiding. No, it would never be so, she would not allow it.

Despite the fear, today had been a good day. It was Halloween, and they had enjoyed letting Harry try some candies, then spent the day playing games. This mostly just consisted of them running after Harry as he chased bats they had conjured. This was followed by a rousing game of catch Harry on his mini broomstick that Sirius had bought him for his Birthday this summer. James was proud as punch that Harry did as well as he did on that little broomstick and even she was shocked that Harry adapted to that so quick. She knew that in the future that she would have to resign herself to being scared shitless as she watched her little boy doge bludgers and quaffles. But at the very least she wouldn't have to worry about that till at least fifth year in Hogwarts. They had managed to tire Harry out enough that he had passed out early. This allowed her and her husband to get a little couple time in which they didn't get much of. And so, here she was enjoying her husbands' calm company at the moment.

With that thought, she reached up and gently stroked his face. He turned to her with questioning eyes as she lifted her head and turned her face to look at him. She smiled then leaned forward and kissed him softly, he responded with lightly kissing her back with a smile on his lips. As the kiss progressed it became more heated until they were snogging like they had done when they were teenagers and many times since. He pulled her legs over his until she was on his lap. His arms were tight around her with one hand coming lightly to rest on her ass. She smirked in the kiss, knowing that he couldn't resist and that he was particularly fond of that feature. He was becoming even more passionate alternating between kissing her deeply and peppering her neck with kisses. Hands gripping tighter at her and pulling her more flushed against him. She laughed at his eagerness and slowly started to slow them down. Until finally they were again softly kissing.

Breaking apart she smiled then softly said: "I love you, James Potter."

He smiled wide and responded, "and I you, Lily Potter." His smile then changed to a smirk, "shall we take this upstairs to the bedroom darling wife?" She giggled and stood up to do just that.

Then everything changed.

There was a whoosh behind her, coming from the fireplace, she started and turned around to see Dumbledore emerging from blue flames.

Gone was his wise but good-natured demeanour, his amused twinkling eyes and kind smile. In its place were thunder and determination. A man ready for war. He did not stop but moved forward to the front of the house. As he did he spoke, "Voldemort has found you, he is coming, PREPARE!"

While saying this many more whooshes sounded in the fireplace as the grime faces of Sirius, Remus, Frank Longbottom, Alice Longbottom, Madeye Moody, Dedalus Diggle and Emmaline Vance also emerged in their living room via the floo network. The Order had arrived right in time.

Lily didn't get the chance to see everyone who came through the fireplace as at the moment that Dumbledore shouted 'prepare' the house groaned and there was a sharp crack that rent the air. The shield was down. This was followed by a boom as the front of the living room exploded inward. They were saved from the shockwave and heat by Dumbledore who erected a shield then blew the shield outward sending the force of the blast back from the way it came. It was those three seconds from the explosion to the counter explosion that allowed the rest of the order to come through the fireplace, that allowed James to stand in front of her with his wand out, and for Lily to reach for her own wand. Then there was pandemonium and the battle began.

Immediately, through the smoke and dust, hexes began flying on both sides. The Order surged forward and some apparated through the smoke. Sirius ran forward with Remus on his heels flashing a look to the Potters as he ran past, dodging curses. The only ones who stood their ground in the house were Lily, James and Alice Longbottom. Silently agreeing that Harry came first and placing themselves in front of the stairs, in front of Harry. They were together blocking curses and sending them back at the death eaters that they could see through the smoke. Lily, who was very familiar with both James and Alice's fighting style immediately felt her confidence grow, these were people she knew how to fight with. Fluidly and seamlessly they worked together as a cohesive unit, creating a barricade that none could pass. She felt this confidence waver as she saw what they were up against when the dust and smoke had mostly cleared. There were around thirty Deatheater's on her lawn.

Taking a quick surveillance of the yard, she saw that everyone from the Order was taking on at least two death eaters each. Sirius with his mastery of duelling was fighting unmasked Bellatrix and Rudolphus Lestrange and another masked one she could not make out. Sirius was fierce as he was spinning and sending counter curses in all directions grinning in the face of a challenge much, to the annoyance of Bellatrix. Remus had never looked as wolfish as he fought near Sirius. Taking on Walden Mcnair and Travers. Scanning the Deatheater's there were a few faces she knew but didn't know where Deatheaters like Rookwood and Barty Crouch Jr.

The true centre of the battle was happening around Dumbledore who was surrounded by ten death eaters. If she hadn't been so focused on her own attackers, she would have only been able to stand in awe. She didn't know wands could move so fast and the magic he was creating seemed beyond comprehension. Dumbledore had curses and counter-curses flying from his wand while also seeming to control great eagles made of fire that he had conjured. There where roots from the ground springing up and trying to catch and trip the Deatheaters, as well as a great wind swirling around him causing debris to tumble through the air and sending curses askew, leaving the Deatheaters dodging. The ten death eaters that took him on only seemed to be able to defend in the face of the true power of the great Headmaster.

Lily noted that James, Alice, and herself were currently taking on five Deatheaters. The battle was fierce. She was sending and defended in a unified fashion with her husband and friend. Their faces grim and determined. Her wand work was fast as she dodged and parried. It was the most dangerous of dances, but she would not let them get by her to her son.

In her singular focus on the five death eaters in front of her, she nearly missed what happened next. Standing to the left of James with Alice on his right, she was the only one who saw it coming. From her position, she saw him out of the corner of her left eye. His pale, snake face was vicious as she looked down the length of his wand, which was pointing at the three of them. She put the spell of protection in front of them just in time and blue lightning exploded from his wand striking the shield and blowing them, and the Deatheaters they were fighting, sideways and away from the stairs.

She flew back, landing hard on the ground and her hand opened. It took a second to get her bearings as the wind had been completely knocked out of her, but she was still the first to recover. She lifted her head just in time to see Voldemort mount the stairs. She couldn't hear anything except the pounding in her ears, her lungs screamed for air and the pain in her back screamed as she moved to stand. But it didn't matter, she had to get to Harry. She realised as she was halfway to the stairs that she didn't have her wand. It didn't matter, she had to get to Harry. She dimly heard James yell her name, but it didn't cause her to hesitate, it only fueled her. She took the stairs two at a time and desperately sprinted down the hall. Through the open doorway she flew and found herself with her arms stretched out, and standing unarmed in front of the cruel smirk of Lord Voldemort. The only thing between him and the small toddler who was standing in his crib looking with wide green eyes at the scene.

Her lungs screamed, her mind whirled, her body ached, but she stood between them tall and unflinchingly. She knew she was going to die, but all she had to do was buy time. Dumbledore would get here. Voldemort's cruel smirk turned into a look of disgusted hatred and he slashed his wand at her.

Pain, sharp, hot and beyond words sliced at her lower abdomen. She collapsed to her knees in shock and her arms instinctually wrapped around her belly. It felt as though she was looking through someone else's eyes at the large gaping cut across her stomach and the river of blood that poured forth from it. It was so out of body; her mind couldn't process the pain and the sight. She at this time asked herself why he did that. But the answer came immediately he was playing with her, torturing her, wanted her to watch him kill her baby and then die.

No, it was never going to happen. She stood then, slowly on wobbly knees. Everything in her vision seemed to be hazy except for Voldemort's image in the centre. She focused on it, she had to stand, she had to buy time, she had to die first. She was not afraid of death in that moment, all she could focus on was her family. All the love she had for them pored from her like her blood pouring from her wound. Protect, live, love, love, love. It was on a loop in her head and in her heart. It was sent to her small family. She would die, but she would die for love, and that was everything. Serenity took her features as she stood in front of Voldemort. She saw the anger, disgust, and mostly hatred on his face as he observed her. And for one brief fleeting moment, she thought that she pitied him. He raised his wand but before he had a chance to cast his curse something happened that neither was expecting.

A small hand touched the middle of her back and she felt a half second of vertigo before she focused again. She was still in the room. She was still standing. She was still facing Voldemort. The difference was that she now stood behind the crib. Her baby boy was in front of her with his tiny arm outstretched. He was facing Voldemort, with nothing between them.

Horror gripped her as she saw what had happened. She saw Voldemort laugh in triumph and lower his still raised wand slightly to point it at Harry. She tied to jump but her body didn't obey her, she had lost too much blood and was in too much pain. Instead, she fell forward towards the back of the crib as Voldemort yelled, "Avada Kedavra!"

The curse hit Harry as her knees hit the floor. Then he was enveloped in a pure light for a quarter of a second. Then the curse shot back with the force of a hurricane.

Lily's back hit the wall as the force of the counter curse knocked her backwards, through the blinding green light she could see the outline of Voldemort. It looked like he was being shredded into pieces, but she was sure of nothing. A horrible screech that sounded like what she imagined pure agony to sound like was heard. Then through the slowly dimming green light, she thought she saw something hit Harry. In the next moment, Harry let out a scream of someone experiencing true pain and evil. Harry himself twisted and arched back. She watched in horror as his little body twisted and shook. He then began to glow, that same glow he let out when he was in her arms. It became brighter and brighter so that she could barely see. Then with a bang like a sonic boom, he vanished.

It had taken all of a second to happen, and now she was staring at an empty cot with the far wall and roof completely blown apart. It took some seconds to register, then despair, pure agonizing despair hit her. The pain, she thought, the pain is too much. Harry, her little boy, it was too much. Harry, I love you, her fading mind thought. She briefly recognized James sprinting through the doorway, seeing her then running to her side. He was yelling in her face. His handsome face pinched in concern and misery. He was yelling at her, but it was like hearing everything through water. Just muffled sounds. A hazy image. I am so sorry James was her last thought as everything went black.


	2. Chapter 2

Lily was floating, her mind was in limbo, she didn't know up from down and everything was neither black, white, or coloured, it just was. It felt like she floated forever, and there was a fleeting and ungraspable feeling that she was missing something important. Eventually, there was a change and she began to hear a buzzing. The buzzing grew louder and began to become a muffled conversation. Eventually, she heard a word that ripped her out of the limbo state that she was in. "Harry" spoken by her darling husband.

With the return to consciousness also came a return of pain, anguish and confusion. There was so much rushing through her head and she couldn't make sense of it. She decided to focus on opening her eyes. She shifted and the conversation she could hear ceased. She very slowly cracked an eye, only to see bright lights. Slowly and painfully the roof above her bed came into focus. White, cracked and plaster. She didn't think heaven had white, cracked plaster as its roof.

"Lily" a choked sob of her name to her right made her shift her head. Her tired and battle-worn husband was next to her leaning forward with tear stains down his cheek. His eyes were wide behind his glasses. Pleading and searching, but hopeful.

"Don't cry my love," was all she managed to whisper. It was barely audible but James heard it and collapsed forward so his head rested on her bed and all she could see he was the top of his thick messy black hair. Taking in a ragged breath, James looked up and came forward towards her. Very lightly he kissed her chapped lips. "I thought I lost you." Was all he murmured. He then looked up and said, "Get the healer" to someone beyond her field of vision. Lily was still struggling through her fog in her brain, but focussing on her husbands face helped her to concentrate. With a small gasp, she remembered the final events of the attack and she whispered the word "Harry?" to her husband.

James grimaced, but eventually gave her a small watery smile. "Rest love, we can talk later."

Lily didn't need much encouragement. Struggling through the fog was like trying to move in a chest-high pool of syrup. It was exhausting. She let herself drift back to sleep.

Later, she woke again. She had no idea how much time had passed but she again woke to a conversation. This conversation was spoken in harsh whispers. She could not hear the words but understood the tone. She thought she heard the name, Peter.

' _Peter Pettigrew?'_ She hoped he was okay. Her eyes cracked open and could barely make out the shapes of her husband and Sirius. But the concentration was again too much and she drifted back to sleep

She woke very blearily a third time. Again, fighting the fog and exhaustion. The pain was more prominent this time and she was quicker to shift and open her eyes. She felt that her right hand was being held and looked over in that direction. Alice Longbottom's face came into view and she smiled down at Lily.

"Alice" she managed to croak out. "are you okay?" she whispered to her long-time friend. Remembering the blast that had sent her, James and Alice flying back.

"Oh, Lily, that is so like you." Alice sighed with a small smile. "You are the one in a hospital bed and you are asking me if I am okay?" She shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Well to answer your question, yes I am. Everyone is. You, my dear, took the worst of the damage."

"Oh thank goodness." Lily managed a small smile at Alice's words. But the exhaustion and pain were again getting to her and she had really had to focus on Alice to understand her. She drifted off again, while still seeing her smiling friends face.

She awoke again, feeling extremely uncomfortable, with the feeling slowly getting worse as she roused. She finally opened her eyes to see a person she did not know in white healer's robes. The women in the robes looked down and noticed her. The women smiled widely, " Mrs Potter you are awake!"

The smile quickly disappeared as she noticed the grimace on Lily's face. "Oh, you dear, you are in a lot of pain, let me help." With that, she produced a wand and started mutter a spell. The tip of the wand glowed a bright baby blue and the healer began to run it over her body. She would spend extra time in certain areas on her body that hurt the most, like her abdomen. The spell took effect and the sharp, unyielding pain died down until it was an uncomfortable dull ache. But she could ignore the small ache and in comparison to before, it felt a million times better. She sighed and relaxed back. She slowly realised that her husband was not in the room.

"James? My husband?" she asked quietly to the women who had a happy smile and was busying herself with tidying around the bed. The women looked at her then nodded, "I will be right back with him dear." And then she hustled out the door. Lily looked up at the roof trying to organize her thoughts.

What had happened? She was obviously in 's Hospital. She was obviously injured too. She tried to think back. There were flashes of what happened the shield, the Order, the Deatheaters in her lawn. Voldemort came and went upstairs. The Dark Lord standing in front of her little boy. Her own blood pouring through her fingers. She squeezed her eyes shut as she recalled Harry vanishing with a boom.

Very gingerly she lifted her arm. Her body felt weak and unused. She wondered how long she had been in the hospital. She very slowly placed her hand on her lower stomach. Even though the light sheet bedding and the simple hospital shift she was wearing she could feel the wound and scar on her lower stomach and she could also still feel pain on the spot where she touched. She wanted to see the damage, but the task felt monumental at the moment so she relaxed back.

She very briefly took in her surroundings. There was a large window on her right, a door on the back wall and a door to the left that the healer had just exited. The window was truthfully the most interesting thing in the room showing a grey London sky and the tops of buildings from her vantage point. Otherwise, the walls were white and plastered and the floor was hardwood. Her bed, a hanging curtain attached to the ceiling, a straight back wood chair beside the bed and a small desk were the only furniture. On the desk on the far wall, there was quite a bit of colour. She could make out a bouquet of flowers as well as many colourful cards that she assumed said 'get well soon,' or something similar. She could also make out a bag of Berty Botts every flavour beans.

James came through the door then, followed by a different healer. This healer was more elderly than the women before. She had a stern face, but her eyes were kind as she surveyed the scene of her husband coming to greet her.

"Lily, you are awake! Merlin luv, you have no idea how worried I was. You just weren't waking up." His concerned face took up her vision, and her eyes began to water realising she missed him. She thought she was never going to see him again as she ran up those stairs.

"James." She sobbed. Immediately he bent his head and kissed her. It was to his credit. She probably looked horrible and probably smelled worse. But she just enjoyed the feel of his kiss and then of him resting his forehead against her own.

The healer in the doorway took this moment to interrupt with a small "ahem." James pulled slowly away and gave her a small, loving smile. He then walked around the bed till he was on the far side and the healer had access to her bed from the left.

"Mrs Potter, glad to see you are awake, we were all concerned. How do you feel now?" The healer asked gently coming to stand behind the bed.

"I am feeling…" She couldn't quite continue. She didn't know. She didn't know anything about what had happened. What had happened to Harry. "My body is feeling better. The other healer used some spell to alleviate a lot of the pain I had when I woke up."

The older healer nodded. "I am healer Marriane Gladric. I am one of the senior healers here at St. Mungos. You were brought in a week ago and we managed to stop the bleeding. It was a close call Mrs Potter. The curse He Who Must Not Be Named hit you with was very dark and hard to repair."

"A week!" Lily stammered. Healer Gladric nodded "Indeed. You lost quite a bit of blood and we did all we could just to stop it and contain the curse. Your body had to heal and that can take time."

"When can I leave?" Lily asked. Already her mind was whirling. She had no idea where Harry was, and she had a sinking feeling that James didn't know either. She had to find him.

Healer Gladric frowned. "Well for the most part that will depend on how quickly you heal. But you were hit with a very powerful curse and I do not see you being moved for at least a month."

Lily grimaced at that. A month was too long. The panic must have started to show on her face because she felt her husband gently grasp her hand and his other hand gently push her hair back from her forehead. She looked over and saw his concerned but supportive face.

She looked back at the healer. "Can I talk to my husband for a bit? Can I sit up?"

Again, the healer frowned. "Yes Mrs Potter, but please do not overdo it and exhaust yourself. You will never heal that way." As she said this she waved her wand and the bed gently and slowly folded up leaving her at a forty-five degree angle. The healer rearranged the pillows and fluffed them behind her head and then gave a stern look to James. "Please do not upset her too much Mr Potter."

To her surprise, he nodded gravely. The healer then left leaving her and her husband alone. There was silence then. Her husbands head was dropped and she couldn't see his face.

"James, have you found Harry?" she asked gently. It took a second but his head snapped up. Looking at her incredulously. "What do you mean have I found Harry? Lil's, Harry. He's… I am … he… didn't make it. The blast… there was nothing…Lily, I am so sorry. I couldn't protect us!" His face had crumpled and his shoulders hunched forward and tears started to stream down his face. A great shuddering sob shook his body.

"No, no James! This wasn't your fault. You are the bravest man I know and you were beyond incredible in that battle! It was my fault. What Harry did, I just didn't see it coming. But darling, he's alive we have to find him!" Lily soothed, while lifting a tired arm to stroke his face. His stubble had grown out and this was the longest she had ever seen his beard. He probably wasn't shaving at the moment with everything happening.

"Lily," he gapped at her. "I do not understand how could Harry be alive." And so she told him. Everything that had happened when she ran up those stairs. He listened to her story, he choked when she told him what Voldemort did, and when she described how she stood up to face him again, and his face became shocked when she described what Harry had done.

"He protected you," James said slowly. She nodded. Her little man had protected her, had saved her life, had put himself forward as the sacrifice and all at the tender age of one-year old. He was a lot like his father already. She then told him about how the curse had backfired and Voldemort had been ripped to shreds, about the thing that hit Harry, his tortured little scream and then his vanishing.

"But Lily," James began slowly, "how do you know that he disappeared? That he didn't just… you know?"

"Do you remember how that one time we found Harry on top of the bookcase trying to get to the cat? We had left him in playpen pen and he still managed to get to the top of that thing. We had both been in the kitchen and we came back into the room when we thought we saw that flash of light. I think that he did the same thing that night. He tried to get away from the pain and invoked his magic. Now he is out in the world all by himself." Lily at this point stated to cry. Silent tears dripped down her face. "James. I have never been more certain of anything in my life. Harry is alive. He is out there. We have to find him." She spoke with silent determination, tears still dripping. She felt more than saw her husband get up and sit beside her on the bed carefully. He very carefully wrapped his arms around her and brought his head down to kiss her forehead and rest his cheek on her head. She turned towards him slightly and let the tears fall. She tried to fight back the tears, mostly due to the pain she felt as she started to take deep shuddereing breaths. After a time, she began to calm down and there was again silence in the room.

"James, I have to know what else happened. What happened to the Deatheaters? What is happening with the war? And how did the Order know that Voldemort was coming?"

He sighed in resignation knowing that she would not let it drop until he answered. Even though he knew she should gtet more rest.

"The war is over my love. When I saw you get up after being blasted back from that curse I tried to follow you. I got intercepted by a Deatheater which prevented me. Alice and I started to battle again and I was frantic. If Alice hadn't have been there I would have definitely been hit." James shook his head in anger and disappointment at himself. "It was then that we heard the blast and everything seemed to be bathed in green light. And there was this horrible shrieking like nothing I have ever heard before. It was then we knew, that somehow, someway, Voldemort had been defeated. There was then that large boom. And then there was silence. Dumbledore acted first. He managed to capture seven Deatheaters while they were busy realising what had happened. Guy really doesn't miss a beat. We sprung into action as well and tried to capture as many as possible, but at least half of them escaped. I was already running for the stairs and came in to see Harry gone, a hole in the roof, and you behind the crib so pale and covered with blood. I lifted you and appartated down to Dumbledore. He immediately saw you and started doing some healing, counter curse thing that I had never seen before. When he was finished he said ' _take her to St. Mungo's now! This is all I can do.'_ He saved your life I am sure. You have been here since." James again looked pained at the memory.

"What is happening now? Now that he has been defeated?" Lily asked quietly.

"The Aurors, the Order and many others are busy trying to round up Deatheaters. Many people are being charged and captured and many secrets are coming to light about who was complicit in Voldemort's take over. There are a lot of changes happening in the ministry. But for the most part, the Order is being regarded as hero's and the wizarding world celebrates." He chuckled then. "The improper use of magics office have had their hands full with trying to keep all the muggles from finding out about Magic with all the celebrations happening everywhere around Britain. Dedalus Diggle set off a rather large display of fireworks in Surrey." James again chuckled and even Lily managed a smile.

"Hmmm. How did Voldemort find us?" That questions wiped the smile off James face and replaced it with a furious snarl.

"Peter." James all but spat. "He betrayed us! He sold himself to Voldemort that spineless, disgusting little worm! I am going to kill him Lily." James growled. "How could I have trusted that bastard! This is again my fault! I am so, so sorry Lily." His head dropped again. Lily looked at him in horror. Too be so betrayed by someone they thought was a friend. This was a horrible revelation.

"James no! he betrayed both of us! I trusted him too. It isn't your fault." She tried to sooth him again. "That horrid man! Has he been found?"

James shook his head at that. "We realised what had happened early. Who was responsible. Sirius took it hard. He thinks it is his fault because he convinced us that Peter should be the secret keeper. So Sirius went after him immediately. He cornered Pettigrew in a muggle street. But the little rat was a coward. He exploded one of the building and killed twelve muggles on the inside. Sirius did all he could to contain the blast and probably saved many other muggle lives that day. But by the time he had done that Pettigrew was gone. The little shit had cut off his finger, so the Ministry is officially saying that he is dead. They think he took the cowards way out and killed himself. I don't believe it for a second, Remus, Sirius and I think that he escaped into the sewers owing to his 'rat' like tendencies. We can't say anything however because that would shift some unwanted focus on Sirius and I." James was scowling as he told the story. His frustration evident in his voice.

Lily sighed, she had to agree with her husband on this one. She didn't think this was the last they had seen of Peter Pettigrew.

"What about my first question? How did the order know about the attack?" Lily asked again. If possible she saw her husband scowl even deeper. He seemed to be wrestling with himself and eventually became resigned.

"Dumbledore. He has had a man on the inside of Voldemorts forces for a year and a bit now. He tipped Dumbledore off. Lily, the turncoat is Snape."

To say she was shocked would be an understatement. Her mind went back to her childhood. The quiet, black haired boy who lived next door. Her friend and confident during those pre-puberty years when she didn't know anything about the magic world, only that she wanted to be part of it with how Severus had described it. Her mind went through the years to their final encounter in Hogwarts. Snape had approached her in their seventh year. It was at that time that she was truly starting to fall in love with James Potter, but both were too nervous to make a move. Snape had ambushed her outside a classroom and had quiet asked if they could talk. Annoyed, angry, and a little scared, she had agreed. He had stood there awkwardly for a minute and she was the first to speak. "Are you going to call me a mudblood and kill me like your disgusting master does?" she had asked him spitefully. He had got angry then, "do not talk about The dark Lord like that! You still have a chance Lily. You should join us. This is the way that the world is going. There is too much at stake and what Voldemort is fighting for is too important. You must switch sides or he will kill you!" He had implored her. She had sneered at him then, "you do not get it! What your preciouse Lord is trying to do! He is taking away everyone freedom! He is a murderer." Snape had looked angry but seemed to be trying to control himself. Finally, he had calmed down and looked at her with worry. "Lily I am trying to help you." "I don't want help from the likes of you. Why would you even bother?" She had spat in his face. His face saddened then. "Because… Because I love you." He had said it quietly, but she had heard. Her face registered shock at the emission. They had stood there for a moment in silence just looking at each other, and finally, Lily's face had steeled. "How can I love a man that hates what I am? what I can't control?" And with that, she had walked away from him forever.

Or so she had thought. Now here he was many years later, again back in her life. "Snape?" She had whispered, too shocked to know how to handle this revelation. James only nodded. She had told her husband years later of Severus's confession. His hatred towards the man had only grown. She could understand the conflicted emotions on his face. James hated Severus, but If Severus had not tipped off Dumbledore then they would be dead.

James again sighed wearily, like he had too many things on his mind. "No one knows yet that Snape in the double agent. Only some of the order. So don't tell anyone okay? At least those were Dumbledores orders." James said then, looking more tired than he had ever looked.

Lily was also tired. The conversation had exhausted her physically and mentally, and the pain was slowly getting worse. She let her mind dirft then. She was happy in the quiet and reflective company of her husband.

Her mind came to settle one last time on their baby boy. Harry was somewhere out there. Lost and alone. But at the very least, the world was now safer for him now that Voldemort was gone. 'P _lease Harry! Please be alright!'_ were her last thoughts before drifting off to sleep on her husbands shoulder.


	3. Chapter 3

Rose Evans was surveying her garden from the back window of her Kitchen. It was early in the morning and the sun was just starting to rise over the trees. It was a quiet part of the morning that Mrs. Evans enjoyed. She was holding a cup of tea and watching as a few birds would dip down and splash in her bird bath. Whilst surveying the garden she noticed that her some of her petunias were bent as they stuck out from their confines of the flower bed she couldn't see the extent of the damage though, as her vision of the plant were blocked by the hydrangeas.

She resolved that fixing her garden was going to be the first job of the morning. Not that she had many jobs to do today. Mrs. Evans was a retired elderly widow. She had been a widow ever since her husband Mr. Hartley had died nearly forty-four years ago. It was a car accident and had been a horrible tragedy. She had opted at that time to revert back to her maiden name of Evans, as they had never had children and now her only family were her own parents. When her parents had passed, around twenty years ago, she had been left as the sole benefactor of their modest wealth, which had allowed her to buy her own small plot of land and move into the country. She had then been left completely alone in the world. Well, there was her cousin on her fathers' side and she believed that he had had some daughters. But her father and uncle had a falling out many years ago over something long forgotten, so she had never really known her cousin or his family. Thinking about it now she guessed that her grand nieces would probably have children of their own.

Despite a rather solitary and sometimes lonely existence she had never remarried and had lived a quiet and content life in the country, working as an administrator for the local dental office. Upon retirement, she had filled her days with her book club and helping at various charities, along with her various hobbies like gardening. It was a quiet life, but a good life, and Mrs. Evans was rather content with her lot. She was a kind and demure woman who preferred a handful of good, close friends as opposed to being the center of attention or gossiping in various circles. She was happy to spend the rest of her days in her quiet little cottage, working for charities and working in her garden.

It was with that, she put her finished tea cup in the sink and went into the hall to grab her shall. She made her way to her back door and transitioned from her slippers to her gardening shoes. She opened the door and smelt the fresh air with the hint of flowers from her own garden. She walked around the side of her house to grab a spade. Then she walked back to her petunias to asses the damage. As she got closer she could see that the plants had been bent and pushed outward by something that had landed in the middle of the plant. It was only when she had got closer that she could make out what it was and, in her surprise, she dropped her spade and stopped short.

There in the middle of her petunias was a baby. Recovering from her shock she ran the rest of the way to the small child. Upon reaching the baby she stopped short and looked around. There was no one in sight. She then bent down and very gingerly lifted the baby from the flower bed, being carful to watch his head. The baby squirmed a little and made a disgruntled face at being lifted but didn't wake up and settled back into a peaceful sleep in her arms.

She did a quick assessment of the child. He had an angelic face and appeared to be a year old. There was a tuft of black hair on his head and although she couldn't see his eyes she knew they would be beautiful because of the thick long lashes that brushed his cheeks. He had on a light blue onesie, that was very peculiar because it wasn't dirty or wet at all, even though the boy had been lying in a flower bed in the morning dew. He appeared to be healthy and wasn't in any distress at the moment. The only thing that gave her worry was a rather angry looking scar on his forehead in the shape of a lightening bolt. Regardless one thing became instantly obvious to Rose as she held the little boy. She was smitten.

Coming back to herself she knew that she had to call the police. There was a discarded child in her petunias and she needed to find the mother. Rushing back into the house she went straight to the cupboard and grabbed a quilt. She wrapped it around the child and made sure he was nice and snug. She then went to the land line and called the police station. There was an answer immediately.

"Hello, this is constable Budge, please state your name and reason for calling" answered a mans voice from the end of the line. She was happy that it was constable Budge that answered. Mathilda Budge was one of her good friends and she had known her son, police constable Gary Budge for a long time.

"Oh Gary, thank goodness, it is Mrs. Evans" she answered.

"Mrs. Evans." He sounded very surprised to hear from her. "Whatever is the matter?"

"Well, I have just had the strangest thing happen. I went out to tend to the garden this morning as I noticed there was something wrong with my petunias, as I got closer I found there was something in the middle of my petunias. You will never guess but it was a baby!"

"A baby?"

"yes, a little baby, about one years old. He was just sleeping in my petunias."

"Are you sure Mrs. Evans?" he sounded sceptical of her rendition.

"Yes of course I am sure. I looked around, but I didn't see anyone nearby. We have to find his mother." She stated, a little miffed that she wasn't being believed.

"Alright, Mrs. Evans I'll come down there in a minute. Are you okay with the baby for a while? is he injured?" He asked sounding apologetic for making some assumptions.

"No I do not believe so, he is just sleeping right now. We will be alright till you get here." She answered

"Very well, I'll see you soon." He hung up after that and she put the receiver down. She again picked up the baby and walked over to one of the armchairs in her living room. She sat quietly and just observed the baby. From his little button nose to the worrying red scar on his forehead. His clothes she had noticed earlier as she wrapped the little boy in a blanket had been remarkably dry, but she did a double check to see if there was any part that would make him wet and cold. As she found none, but she did notice a word stitched in gold on the front left of his onesie. The word was _Harry._

"Harry" she whispered. As if in response, the baby opened his eyes. She was arrested by the sight of beautiful green eyes, framed by those long lashes. It made his eyes pop. He looked up at her qiuzzickly.

"Oh you sweet baby boy, what are we going to do with you?" His only response was to scrunch up his little face and let out of yawn. He then drifted back to sleep as she rocked him.

It was around twenty minutes later when there was a knock at the door. She stood up with baby Harry and went to answer it. She opened the door to reveal two police officers and a woman in a business suit. She recognized constable Budge and smiled at him, asking them to come in.

"Blimey Mrs. Evans. An actual baby!" he exclaimed as he passed her into the house taking in the sight of the little one in her arms. He was followed by the other officer and women. "Mrs. Evans please let me introduce my partner, officer Hammel and this lady here is Mrs. Lamont. She is from social services."

Officer Hammel was a tall man, with dark brown hair and brown eyes. His features were average, but he was smiling in a friendly way to the elderly women. The woman was closer to her age then the two younger men. She was around sixty and appeared to be half way through graying. If classifying her hair, it would be described as salt and pepper. She had a round face and small, but pretty, blue eyes. She also had on a small smile as she was introduced, but immediately directed her attention to the small boy in her arms.

Rose directed them into the living room and bade everyone sit. She also made herself comfortable in the same armchair as before. Mrs. Lamont and constable Budge sat on the sofa, while officer Hammel took her other armchair.

"Mrs. Evans" began Constable Budge as he pulled out a notepad and pen, "can you tell us what happened again?"

She recounted the story of finding the baby in her petunias and then of calling the police station.

"Can I see your back-yard Mrs. Evans?" asked officer Hammel, standing from the chair.

"Of course," she answered, and directed him to the back door. As he left Mrs. Lamont asked, "is the baby alright?"

"He appears so, his onesie wasn't even wet. The only thing that has me worried is this scar on his forehead. It looks a little fresh." Mrs. Lamont came over to look at the scar, it was red and angry but there was no blood or cut. She deemed it to be an older wound that was in the process of healing.

"He?" Mrs. Lamont questioned.

"Well on his onesie, there is the embroidered name of Harry," she pointed out the name on his chest. Mrs. Lamont nodded.

"And you have no idea where he came from? You didn't hear anything last night?" Constable Budge interrupted.

"No and no, I honestly found him this morning looking for the world like he had dropped out of thin air." She answered. He nodded and wrote it down on the pad he was writing on. At this point, officer Hammel came back into the room.

"There was absolutely nothing around the flower bed." He stated as he entered.

Constable Budge nodded. "Well, this is an unusual case. I am going to look to see if anyone has filed a missing child's report in the area, but I doubt I will find anything. It looks like the child was abandoned." He said while shooting the small child a sympathetic look.

"What will happen to him?" asked Mrs. Evans, already nervous for the poor boy.

At this question, Mrs. Lamont took over. "We have to take Harry now Mrs. Evans. We will take him to the hospital first then hold on to him for a month. If no one comes forward to claim him, I am afraid he will be placed into the orphanage in Hamilton, the town over."

Mrs. Evans feared that would be the answer. She had also thought about adopting the boy but had to dismiss the idea. She didn't have the financial security to look after a toddler. She also didn't have the energy. She had not told many people, but she was sick. A heart condition that left her rather fatigued. There was no way she could properly provide for the boy. So, it was with a heavy heart that she handed over the child to Mrs. Lamont.

"May I visit him?" she asked.

Mrs. Lamont smiled. "if you go through the proper vetting then yes you can visit him."

The group left then and with a promise to call of anything else unusual occurred. Mrs. Evans was again left alone and went to her old computer to start researching how to be vetted by social services.

Constable Budge was proven correct, as Harry Doe, as the service workers called him, did not get claimed. The story of the discarded child was overshadowed by the many strange goings on around England, the gasline that blew and killed twelve people, the great owl migration, and the strange fireworks that were occurring during the daytime, too name a few. Harry ended up at the Hamilton Home for Children, which was a small home that had a total of five children including Harry. The Matron of the home was named Miss Fitzgerarald. She was a rather strict and although not mean she was prone to negligence. It was more important to her to get checks from the government than seeing to the comfort of the children she cared for. It greatly put her out that she had to take care of such a young boy, as most of the children who came to her were older than five at least. She was prone to forget about him at times and as he grew Harry realised that he had to fend for himself. He learned early how to take care of himself, how to clean up after himself, how to fix food for himself and how to fend for himself in the world.

It did not help that he was much younger than the other children in the orphange. The closest kid in age was five years older than him. It also became obvious early on that Harry was peculiar. Things would go missing around him and there would be random animals like toads and small dogs appearing in the orphanage at random times. things would sometime break randomly or change colour. It was these strange happenings that made him the target of bullying. George Humphreys was the oldest boy in the orphanage and seven years older than Harry. He made it his personal mission to torment Harry growing up. There were two boys younger than George that would follow his every command. It was three on one for most of Harry's life and he learned early on how to run fast. There was one instance where the boys had been chasing Harry at school and he had found himself on top of the school roof, having no idea how he had got there. If there is anything that can be said about living this way, it was that it really honed Harry reflexes. It was a difficult experience growing up in the orphanage and the only bright spot was the visit from Mrs Evans.

Mrs Evans got her certification quickly and came on Sunday. It was due to Mrs. Evans influence that Harry grew to be a rather polite and quiet boy, despite the harassment and negligence he faced at the orphanage. She would come and take him out for a treat or to the park. She would try to help him with his homework and would give him books as presents. His favorite when he was little was Where the Wild Things Are. He dreamed of going in a boat to a fantastic land with strange beasts and magic. Later in life, he was introduced to The Hardy Boys and got a taste for mystery and adventure. On his birthday, which was deemed November first because that was the day he was found, Mrs. Evans would come and take him out to dinner at a restaurant and bake him a cake. These were special times for Harry and allowed him to grow with some love in his life. It was due to this that when Harry was around seven and a social worker came to ask if he would like a last name. He gave the quiet answer of Evans. So Harry Evans came to be, not knowing the significance of that last name, or how on the nose he was.

Many things changed for Harry when he was in the summer of his tenth year. The first being that on the first of May tragedy struck. Harry was visited by an officer the day following and was told that Mrs. Evans had had a heart attack in her sleep and that she had passed away. Harry did not emerge from his bedroom until the following week when the funeral took place. He sat in the front row and cried silently for his only family, the women he thought of as a grandmother, and one of the only people to treat him with kindness. He became quite recluse after the death. And would try to spend as much time as possible outside or in his room. He was usually not bothered up in his room, so it was a little odd when on July thirty first he was called down by Miss Fitzgerald to meet a headmaster of a boarding school who wanted to talk with him. He went slowly down the stairs and into the den, only to be met with one of the most peculiar looking men he had ever met in his life. The man had long silver hair and a long silver beard. He had kind, blue eyes that twinkled over half-moon spectacles. He wore a tweed suit and bowler hat with a bright yellow daisy in his chest pocket. His face broke into a large smile upon seeing Harry and he walked up to the nervous young boy.

"Harry Evans," he said as he stuck his hand out for a shake. "It is a great pleasure to meet you. My name is Albus Dumbledore, please come in we have a lot to discuss."


	4. Chapter 4

Albus Dumbledore did not really believe in coincidences. Especially not one of this magnitude. He was in his office looking at the register for the coming school year, and there in alphabetical order under the E, was the name of Harry Evans. This, of course, could be a coincidence, both Harry and Evans were not particularly uncommon. What was disconcerting was the boy's birth date and address. The birth date was registered as November first. This just so happened to be the day after Harry Potter went missing. The address itself was also peculiar as it was an orphanage. The fact that he was in an orphanage in the muggle world gave further credence to the fact that this may be the missing Harry Potter.

It was popular belief in the wizarding world that Harry Potter was dead. The infant had slain the dark lord with some crazy power but had been killed in the process, was what majority of the public thought. In fact, he believed that there were only two people in the world that truly believed Harry Potter was alive, and they were himself and Lily Potter. He didn't even think that James truly believed that his son was alive, but for his wife's sake he had never voiced his scepticism.

Dumbledore, however, was certain that the boy had lived. It was Lily's account and the strange powers at play that made him believe. He did not think that he had ever seen Mrs Potter happier than when he had said that he also believed Harry was alive. And now he thought that he had found the boy.

Normally in the case of a muggle born, he would have his Deputy Headmaster Minerva visit the family and explain what was to happen and how their child had been accepted to Hogwarts. But he thought this case might require a personal touch. He wanted to be sure that this was Harry Potter before he did anything to alert James and Lily. There was also another reason that he wanted to visit this child in particular, even if it was not who he thought it was.

He remembered around fifty years ago when he had visited a child in an orphanage. That child had so much darkness in his heart and was so power hungry. Much of that child's greed and malice had to do with his life in the orphanage and his need to escape it. that child had wanted to reign over the world. Dumbledore was not a man who liked to make the same mistake twice.

With that thought, he stood up and went to his dresser. He pulled out his one set of muggle clothes and dusted them off. He changed then into his mustard brown tweed suit and put the matching tweed bowler hat on his head. He thought to himself that he looked rather dapper and would no doubt fit in with the muggles. He went back into his office to grab the papers he would require, the Hogwarts acceptance letter and book list. On a whim, he also grabbed a yellow flower from the vase on his desk. He then went to a cupboard on the far wall and tapped it with his wand to unlock it.

Inside the cabinet were a multitude of potions and vials. He spotted the two that he needed. There was one vial with a very light brown liquid in it, which resembled weak black tea. The other had two hairs in it. One was short and black, the other was long and auburn. Two hairs, one from the head of James Potter and the other from the head of Lily Potter. They had been given to him long ago so that if ever he thought he found Harry, then he would be allowed to test them against the boy.

He put the papers and the vials in his pocket, then strode out of his office. He walked through the silent castle and until he reached the front doors. He waved his wand and the front doors opened to reveal the grounds of Hogwarts. He strode across the grass enjoying the beautiful summer day, he reached the woods not bothering to stop in to say hello to Hagrid. He felt the subtle shift as he went through the barrier and then with a quick twist and pop he was standing in front of Hamilton house for children.

The street he was on was in a quiet suburban neighbourhood. The house in front of him was not that much different than the ones that surrounded it, but it did appear to be the most run down. The major difference was a sign on the front gate that announced it as being an orphanage. He looked both ways before crossing the street and opening the gate. He walked up the front steps to the front door and rang the bell. He could hear some commotion on the inside of the house, but after twenty seconds no one had answered the door. He tried again, but still, no one came to the door. He tried a third time and finally, he heard someone moving to the door. He heard from behind the door a muffled "alright, alright, keep your 'air on," before the door swung open.

In the doorway stood a woman who appeared to be in her sixties. She was short, had greying hair and narrowed beady, brown eyes. The vibe that she radiated was disgruntled and put out. She gave him a look up and down and raised an eyebrow.

"We ain't buying whacha selling chap, so move along wouldcha." She made to close the door.

"You are mistaken madam, but I am not here to sell anything," Dumbledore stated as he gently placed his hand out and stopped the door from closing.

"Then whatcha doing 'ere?" she asked rather tartly.

"My name is Albus Dumbledore and I am the headmaster of a boarding school for the academically gifted." He said with a small smile at the white lie. "You are Miss Fitzgerald correct?"

"Aye," she said still annoyed.

"I am here on account of Mr Evans. He has come to our attention as a possible candidate for the school." He stated this an award-winning smile, sending the feeling of calm and acceptance towards her through Legilimancy.

"Eh, who?" she said with some confusion. It was Dumbledore's turn to be puzzled.

"Harry Evans. He lives here does he not?" he stated calmly despite his puzzlement.

"Oh, it's Arry whose be wanting. Well alrigh, but I don't know about no academic giftedness. Boy barely speaks a peep, 'specially after the old lady that always visited 'im died." She stated opening the door further.

"Would you mind if I came in Miss Fitzgerald?" he asked again sending her calm and acceptance again.

"Righ, very well." She stepped out of the way and he came through the door. The house on the inside was beat up. It looked like many children lived here and no one really looked after the place. The yellow faded drywall was cracked in places and the linoleum flooring was scuffed. The place was also fairly dirty. He heard the sound of children in the room over, their laughs, and shrieks heard over the sound of a TV. He turned then to face the woman who was in charge.

"Is there somewhere we may talk in private?" he asked the women. She nodded then led him to a door leading off from the main hallway he was standing in. The room they walked into was filled with second-hand couches and armchairs. It was a living room made for many people living under one roof. There was one window and but otherwise, the walls were bare of any decoration. Albus thought that it was a very depressing room and not suited for children. There was one coffee table in the middle of the room, so Dumbledore strode across the room to sit on the couch in front of it. While Miss Fitzgerald sat on the chair opposite.

"So whas' dis about a school?" Miss Fitzgerald opened.

"I represent my school that accepts students based on a number of merits. I believe that Mr Evans would be well suited to the school and therefore we are offering him a place there." He stated.

"Now listen 'ere Mister. I gotta lot of mouths t'feed. I can't afford to send a kid to some fancy school. There ain't going be no special treatment." She stated while wagging a finger at him.

"Mr Evans expenses will be covered by the school." Dumbledore placated her. She eyed him now sceptically.

"Just like that? You'll take 'im out of my 'air?" She asked.

"Yes, during the academic year, Harry will live on campus but will return during summer. We have reviewed Harry's records and we believe that he will thrive at our school." Again he infused his words with a calming effect to make her believe him. He also pulled out an official looking letter. This was signed by the minister of education for the muggle world stating that Harry had been accepted into Hogwarts. Whenever a muggle child showed signs of magic, some strings needed to be pulled to make sure that the disappearance of the child from the regular school system was not a red flag.

She looked over the paper and then took a moment to respond. "you aint' gonna take dis offer away afta you meet 'im are ya? Listen don't get me wrong, Arry is an alrigh' lad. But he's quiet, don't speak much and is a bit peculiar."

"Peculiar how?" Dumbledore asked.

"Well it's not that he is peculiar, it is just that peculiar things been 'appening since he got 'ere. I find animals around the house sometimes, and things will disappear and reappear? And I swear on me mum's grave that the drapes 'ave changed colour five times, especially when he is annoyed." She stated in a whisper.

Dumbledore just smiled then, "no I will not rescind my offer to Mr Evans."

She looked relieved and nodded.

"Do you mind if I ask what you meant by the old lady dying?" Dumbledore continued.

Miss Fitzgerald then told him about how Harry was found and how the women who found him spent every Sunday with him until her recent death.

"Close they were. Think Arry thought of 'er as family. The boy has been very upset since. I thought he was quiet before, but now he barely leaves 'is room." Miss Fitzgerald concluded.

Dumbledore thought about how perfect all of this was fitting in. Yes, there must be a chance that this woman was related to Lily, and that had many potentials in terms of Harry's protection in the future.

"Would you mind if I meet the boy?" He asked.

She shrugged then stood up, walking across the room and out the door shutting it behind her. Some minutes later he heard her coming back towards the door. She opened it and walked in a couple paces. Then turned and waited with her hands on her hips.

"Well, come along then," she snapped at someone he could not see on the other side of the door. Slowly a small figure crept around the door frame. The boy very timidly entered the room, and Dumbledore was absolutely floored by the similarities. The boy was nearly a spitting image of James. He had the dark messy hair, the straight nose, and the defined features although with a bit more baby fat than his father. His mannerisms though and those striking green eyes that were piercing and observant were his mothers. The only thing of that was neither his mothers or his fathers was a curious lightning-shaped scar on the boy's forehead. Dumbledore could not help the smile that had broken across his face.

Walking across the room and holding out his hand he said, "Harry Evans, it is a great pleasure to meet you. My name is Albus Dumbledore but please call me Professor Dumbledore. Come in we have a lot to discuss."

The boy looked at him for a moment longer then shook the proffered hand, smiling shyly as he did so.

Dumbledore turned from Harry then, "Miss Fitzgerald, would you mind if we had a spot of tea?"

Miss Fitzgerald huffed in annoyance but turned to do what the older gentleman asked closing the door behind her.

"Now Harry, please come in and sit down." Dumbledore walked ahead and sat down on the couch again while Harry took the seat previously occupied by Miss Fitzgerald. When he was settled Dumbledore began.

"Harry, I am the Headmaster of a boarding school called Hogwarts, and I am here to offer you a spot at this school. I believe that you will greatly benefit from attending." Dumbledore said with a smile. Harry was obviously not expecting such an offer. After a while, he found his voice.

"You are offering me a place at a school? I don't mean to sound like I don't appreciate this but I my grades are average, and I don't exactly have the money to afford a boarding school." Harry stated this looking a little downcast.

Dumbledore smiled again. This boy was being polite and thoughtful, everything that Tom Riddle wasn't all those years ago.

"Ah but you see, we invite only special people to this school, people who can do magic. You are a wizard Harry, and Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry is the place where you belong." Dumbledore finished smiling. Harry was again looking a little dumbstruck, but this time with a heavy amount of scepticism.

"I'm a what?" he asked quietly.

Dumbledore chuckled, "you are a wizard. Have you ever noticed strange things happen to you when you get upset or angry? That is the result of magic escaping your body and changing reality around you. At my school, we will teach you to control your magic. There are many types of magic and you will enter the wizarding world which is vast and fantastical."

Harry was still looking at him in disbelief. Perhaps a demonstration was in order. He took the throw cushion from beside him and placed it on the table between Harry and himself.

Dumbledore produced from his pocket his wand. With a flick of his wrist and a quick spell, he transformed the cushion into a rabbit. He then transformed the rabbit into a glass goblet. He then filled the glass with water and made the water levitate out of the goblet, swirling in the air in lazy patterns. He then transformed the water into rose petals that drifted down onto the table. Finally, he transformed everything back into the raggedy cushion it once was. He then looked at Harry who had watched the entire routine gobsmacked.

"That's magic?" he whispered. "I can do that?" he asked again uncertain. Dumbledore again chuckled.

"You will be if you study magic. You can learn to control your magic at Hogwarts if you accept." He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a letter of acceptance and a list of required material placing it in front of the boy. Harry looked at the letter that was addressed to him then reached forward carefully. He opened the first and started to read. As he did so, Dumbledore heard Miss Fitzgerald come back to the door, opening it with her hip.

She placed the tea tray, with two plain white teacups and a battered blue teapot on the table. Dumbledore thanked her, and she quickly left before Dumbledore could ask for anything else. Harry's attention was still focused on the letter, so Dumbledore again reached into his coat pocket and brought out the vial with the tinted brown clear liquid. He poured it into a cup and quickly topped it with black tea. He then poured himself a cup adding some milk and sugar. He handed Harry the tea with the potion and then lifted his own to take a sip, waiting for Harry to finish reading. When Harry finished he slowly dropped the letter. Dumbledore could see the wheels spinning in his head as he took in the information.

Finally, he looked up, "are you sure this isn't some kind of mistake? I don't think I am anyone very special." Harry stated.

"Oh, I believe you are someone who is very special and there is no mistake. Have some tea." He encouraged.

Harry frowned but reached forward like he was told. He picked up the teacup and brought it to his lips taking a sip of the black tea. As he did, Dumbledore took the second vial containing the two hairs from his pocket. He placed them on the table in front of the two of them. As soon as the liquid touched Harry's lips, the hairs in the vial began to glow. After taking his sip, Harry put the cup down and looked at the glowing hairs quizzically.

"Er, what are those?" Harry asked, looking dubiously at the glowing hairs.

"That my dear boy means that I have another story to tell you," Dumbledore explained excitedly. This meant that without a shadow of a doubt, the boy in front of him was Harry Potter.

And so, Dumbledore told Harry of the Dark Lord Voldemort. The terror that he had struck in the hearts of the wizarding world and the brave witches and wizards who tried to defend against the evil wizard. He especially spoke of the Potters and how they had been attacked one night and how a great battle ensued. He spoke of how the Dark Wizard went after their only son but was thwarted. And of how the child had disappeared in the aftermath.

"That my dear boy happened on October thirty first nearly ten years ago. It was my belief that the child didn't die and that he was somehow transported away from his family by his own magic in an effort to save himself when his body was in distress. It is my belief that he appeared somewhere safe and was found the next morning on November the first." Harry startled at that. It did not take a genius to put two and two together.

"My theory was proven just then when these hairs started to glow as you took a sip of that tea. These are the hairs of Lily and James Potter and would only glow if their son was present. You are Harry James Potter." Dumbledore finished smiling.

Harry's mind was racing, that was quite the story, but the bottom line was that he had parents.

"I-I have parents," he asked to be sure. Dumbledore smiled and nodded.

"Do they… do they want to see me?" he asked timidly but with a tiny spark of hope. Dumbledore's heart went out to the boy. Indeed, this was a very different to meeting to the one with Tom all those years ago.

"Harry, your mother and father have never given up hope that you were out there somewhere. They want to meet you with all their hearts." Dumbledore said to the boy.

Harry hunched forward and let out a choked little sob but seemed to try to control himself and looked up at Dumbledore with tear filled eyes.

"w-when can I m-meet them?" he asked with a wobble in his voice.

"I was thinking that perhaps I would send my employee Hagrid to come pick you up tomorrow and you could go see them," Dumbledore said kindly, not wanting to prolong the meeting any more than necessary.

"Y-yes please," Harry sobbed again.

"Can you be packed by then?" Harry nodded

"Very well, I will see that you are picked up at noon tomorrow. I believe you will want to stay with your parents, so I will make all the arrangements for your leaving the orphanage. There are some handy things that can be done with magic, none the least of which is jumping some of the red tape." He winked at the young boy.

Harry let out a half sob and half laugh then wiped his eyes with his oversized sleeve.

"Thank you, Professor Dumbledore." He said with a smile.

"It was my pleasure Harry," he said while standing.

"I will see you again at the start of the school year in September. And do not worry Harry, you will fit in perfectly in Hogwarts." Dumbledore stated with certainty and a twinkle in his eye. And with that, he left. He had a couple of important things to do to get everything arranged. Not the least of which was sending a Patronus to the Potters.


	5. Chapter 5

Lily sat at the dining table in the Burrow with a cup of tea in her hands, waiting for Molly to come back down the stairs. She had been called to the burrow by a frantic Mrs Weasley who said that her twins had again done something to poor Percy. And indeed, they had done something to the poor boy. She didn't know how they managed to make a potion that turned your nose into an elephant trunk, but they had, and they had tricked Percy into drinking it. Thankfully it was an easy enough potion to reverse engineer and apply. Percy's nose was now back to normal, and the twins were in heaps of trouble…again. Lily swears that she goes through an ordeal at the Weasleys at least once a month, not that she minded as it gives her a chance to catch up with Molly.

Lily had met Molly at Gideon and Fabian's funeral, Molly's brothers. Both of whom, Lily had fought beside in the war against Voldemort. Though the circumstances had been tragic, they had become friends and they had many of opportunity to catch up with her children constantly getting themselves injured. That was where Lily came in to help, as following the war Lily had decided to become a healer.

It had taken a while to recover from her injury that Voldemort inflicted. It took even longer for her to grieve. There had been many friends that had fallen over the course of the war that she needed to mourn. Alice and Franks tragedy had happened a month after she had been placed in the hospital due to the dark lord's actions. She had only had a couple visits at the hospital from Frank and Alice. Both visits had been short, all of them believing that they would have more time now that the war was over. Lily's hatred for Bellatrix Lestrange was still potent to this very day, and she swore that if she ever got the chance, she would not hold back when facing that bitch.

She also needed to grieve for the loss of her son. She believed with all her heart that he was somewhere out in the world alive, but he wasn't in her arms. And every day of a search coming up blank left her more hopeless as to ever finding him. It was incredibly frustrating to have been stuck in a hospital bed while the initial search took place, it just wasn't like her to be idle. He had never turned up. She had visited every place she had ever gone with Harry. Checked muggle adoption sights for any hint of a boy with green eyes and had placed her own adds in the muggle and wizard papers. She had put out the call to the entire wizarding community in her desperation, she had even gone to visit her sister, but he had never been found. With every year that passed, she mourned lost opportunities to be a mother to Harry and was terrified that he thought he was abandoned.

She also had to mourn the loss of future children. Voldemort had taken so much from her that fateful night. It had been a punch in the gut to hear the healer tell her that she may never have children again. The wound on her lower abdomen had cut deep and damaged her insides. She had become despondent after hearing the news, it had just been too much on top of losing Harry and the Longbottom's. It was her faithful and determined Husband that had brought her back to life. It was in those three months post-injury where he had held up to his wedding vows. He stayed by her side through the lowest of the low, and they came out stronger because of it.

She had found herself rather directionless when she finally left the hospital and had got a handle on her depression. She knew that she needed to keep looking for Harry, but she also knew that just spending her days searching and coming up fruitless would take an incredible toll on her. So, she needed to do something to keep her busy and allow her to keep looking for her son. That was when she had decided to apply to become a Healer. It had taken three years, but she finally got certified with flying colours. It helped that she had prior experience from treating the Order members during the war. She had worked in St. Mungo's for two years, but decided she needed some spare time to search for Harry. So, she opened a small clinic and potion pharmacy with the help of her generous husband as a benefactor. She was joined in her clinic by some of the elderly healers from St. Mungo's, who was not quite ready for retirement but wanted to slow down a bit more. Lily had been learning lots from the experienced healers, which helped her treat all the odd maladies that came through her doors. Her potions pharmacy was also an immediate success, she had everything from generic healing potions to specifically made potions. It was good that she had always had a knack for the art of potion making. All in all, the clinic had been an immediate success, it was helped along by the fact that she was one of the famous Potters.

Her Family had become celebrities of a sort in the Wizarding world. They were given many of the accolades and props for defeating the Dark Lord, even though it was a team effort. The wizarding world didn't care. Her husband's celebrity only grew when he joined the Aurors and tracked down many of the Dark Lord's followers. She knew though that he was also using his position to find two people in particular. Their son and Peter Pettigrew. That betrayal had hit James hard. He was so loyal and giving that when he was betrayed by a friend, it was the most heinous of offences to James.

But by far the most famous of the Potters was Harry. The boy who defeated the Dark Lord with powers unknown. She did not understand what had happened that night, but she thought that maybe there was some truth to the ridiculous rumours. The curse had rebounded somehow, so perhaps her son did have some strange powers. He did manage to protect her by vanishing her from the spot in front of the crib. She had replayed the night over and over in her mind, but she had never found the answer. She had talked to Dumbledore about it, but he had been rather vague. She suspected that he had theories but wasn't willing to share at the time. It was only something she could wonder at until she found Harry.

She was brought back to the present by Mrs Weasley sitting with a huff on the other side of the kitchen table.

"Those boys are going to be the death of me. I mean an elephant's trunk! Really now, if they put as much effort into studies as they do to causing mischief then they would be top of their class." She grumbled.

"But mum, classes aren't nearly as interesting as the subtle art of nose manipulation." Countered Fred from the spot where he was standing washing the dishes as his punishment.

"He is right mum, the length of the trunk, you see, has to be in proportion to how much of a prat the owner of the nose is." Nodded George solemnly from the den where he was folding a very large pile of laundry as his punishment.

"If Percy wasn't prancing around all morning being a twat we wouldn't have had to do it!" Fred added.

"You two will both be quiet or so help me you will be de-gnoming the garden every day for a month! And your brother has a right to feel proud, he became a Prefect today and has done very well for himself" Mrs Weasley screeched at them. The twins rolled their eyes but kept silent and got back to their assigned chores. Lily had to bite her cheek to keep from smiling. The twins reminded her remarkably of how James and Sirius had been when they were in Hogwarts. Cracking jokes and pulling pranks. Ginny was less successful at hiding her amusement and the little girl giggled at her older brothers' antics from where she was sitting on the floor, listening to a Quidditch game on the radio. She quieted though after receiving a glare from her mother.

"You boys are just lucky that Mrs Potter was available to come over and help your brother. How are you feeling now Percy dear?" She looked towards the third eldest who was sitting on the couch with a book rubbing his tender nose. The trunk had mostly receded, but it would still take another twenty minutes before it was back to normal.

"Much better mum, it still smarts a bit though. Not that I'm complaining, thanks Mrs Potter." He said, sounding a tad nasally still.

"Of course, dear," Lily said smiling. "but please try not to rub it. It will only be more tender later."

Percy put his hand down from his nose, looking contrite.

"And congratulations on becoming Prefect Percy. You will be excellent I am sure." Lily continued smiling.

Percy became a deep red and mumbled a quiet "thank you." The twins flashed a look to each other knowing that Percy thought the older witch to be very pretty.

"Yes, we are all very proud of Percy. Second Prefect in the family after Bill. I don't believe we will be having any Prefects in the family in the next two years, as my twins are absolute maniacs. I swear they get more detentions than the entire school combined. Now, what do I owe you for coming all the way out here?"

"You owe me nothing Molly, it is a treat to come out and visit you, and the tea and cakes are well worth it." Lily smiled while reaching forward to grab another lemon square. Molly's cooking was divine. She didn't understand how the whole family wasn't obscenely overweight.

"Lily please," Molly said while looking concerned. "Us Weasleys don't need charity."

"It's not charity Molly, it's a friends and family rate. In that, I don't need to charge friends and family." She smiled then.

Molly looked ready to argue but then sighed knowing that she probably wouldn't win this one. And Merlin knows they needed the money, what with Ron needing his school supplies.

Speaking of Ron, he came hurtling down the stairs at that very moment.

"Mum! Have you seen Scabbers? I can't find him anywhere," he said as he started overturning the cushions in the living room.

"Where did you last see him Ron," Mrs Weasley said exasperatedly.

"He was on my bed, I swear, then he totally disappeared about thirty minutes ago." He said now moving on to checking under the couches and chairs.

"I am sure he will turn up for his dinner Ron, he always does." Mrs Weasley replied. She turned to Lily then, "Ron has been in a tizzy ever since the Hogwarts letters came this morning. He got straight to packing even though he still has a month."

Hogwarts letters came today, the same day as her son's birthday at the end of July. Lily smiled wanly remembering that her son would have also received his first Hogwarts letter today. She could imagine that like Ron he would be a flurry of excitement this morning having grown up hearing stories from his father, Sirius, Remus and herself about the fantastical school and the adventures to be had. Instead she would never get to see his face as he got his letter.

 _As he got his letter…_ Lily's brain began to race. If Harry was still in the United Kingdom than maybe, he did get a Hogwarts letter today. Then maybe he would be attending the school in fall, and perhaps she could find him.

Her thoughts were cut short as the back door slammed open and Mr Weasley overladen with papers and bags came into the house. "Good afternoon Weasleys!" He called out in a jovial voice.

"Good afternoon Dad!" chorused the children.

"Hullo Arthur dear," Molly said standing up and giving her husband a quick peck on the lips. "Let me fix you a tea and sandwich."

"Thank you, Molly love, that would be sublime." He smiled.

"Dad!" yelled Ron. "I got my letter to Hogwarts today!"

"Ah, congratulations son! You will be an excellent wizard I know" Arthur smiled to his youngest boy. Ron looked pleased and went back to looking for Scabbers.

"Dad, I got the Gryffindor Prefect position," Percy called from the couch. While the twins again rolled their eyes.

"Oh Percy, congratulations! You will be the best Prefect Hogwarts has ever seen, I am sure." Arthur said as he went over and gave his son a hug after dumping his bags and papers on the end of the dining room table.

He then walked back to sit closer to where his wife had been before. "Ah Mrs Potter! How lovely to see you again. What brings you all the way out here?" He said as he sat down opposite her at the table. Mrs Weasley, however, beat her to the punch answering.

"The twins Arthur! Do you have any idea what they have done? They made a potion and changed Percy nose into an elephant trunk! An elephant trunk Arthur!" she yelled from where she was fixing a sandwich.

"Did they now? How on earth did they manage to do that?" he said sounding more mildly impressed than angry. The twins shot each other a smirk.

"ARTHUR!" a cross Mrs Weasley yelled at him.

"Oh right! That was very bad boys, very bad indeed." Mr Weasley scolded, however, the effect seemed to be lost. Again, Lily had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing, very much enjoying the dynamic of the Weasley family. She and James had a happy home, but it was definitely not as boisterous and funny as the Weasleys.

Arthur's arrival home had reminded her that James would probably be arriving home soon as well. She had left him a note on the counter saying where she was, but she wanted to see him as well. He had been working overtime the last couple weeks due to a pressing case. It had required him to work some long hours of overtime. But today was July 31st and she knew he would be home. It was their son's birthday and he would be home to help her get through the melancholy night, just as she would help him. She was grateful that the Weasleys had provided her with a distraction at least for the day. She was about to make her excuses and go home when Mr Weasley addressed her.

"Now Mrs Potter, I have a pressing question for you. What are the exact mechanisms and functioning's of silly putty." Asked Mr Weasley seriously.

And so, she got dragged into a conversation on the mechanics of muggle child's toys. That was until there was a pop outside and then a loud frantic knocking on the door. The loud knocking made everyone jump. Mrs Weasley was sitting next to her husband and was the closest to the door. She stood up and answered and upon seeing who it was she opened the door wider. James came striding in while saying a quick hello to Molly. He was still wearing his auror uniform. It looked like he had just got home before he rushed to the burrow. He had a strange look on his face. His eyes landed on her immediately and he looked like he hadn't seen anyone else in the room.

"James, what happened?" Lily asked while standing up. She hadn't seen that frantic look on his face for quite some time, but there seemed to be something else in the look, something like hope. James stopped on the opposite side of the table near to where Arthur was sitting. He hadn't even acknowledged Mr Weasley sitting there.

"I… I don't… Lily I….Lily… Dumbledore has… he sent a Patronus. I got it when I got home. Lily…. he found him. Harry has been found." James finally managed to choke out. For a moment there was complete silence in the room. The only thing to be heard was the quiet crackle of the radio Ginny was listening to, and the ticking from the grandfather clock. Everyone was staring at James and Lily frozen. To break the silence the teacups on the table all exploded into little pieces making everyone in the room jump. It had been Lily. She realised her magic had gone out of control. She hadn't done that since she was a little girl. The emotions that were welling up in her were too powerful and not well contained. Embarrassed, confused and disoriented, she made to apologise.

"Oh M-Molly I'm sorry." She said in a shaky voice, moving her shaky hands to pick up some of the bigger pieces.

"Dear, never mind that now," Molly said softly moving to stand by the table. Lily nodded and dropped the piece she was holding.

"Are you sure?" she whispered to her husband as she focused on him. He just nodded while making his way around the table. A sob ripped from her throat and she collapsed into the chair she had just stood up from. She felt James wrap his arms around her pulling her face into his chest. She stayed there for minute shaking and letting a few silent tears escape her eyes. She realised that she was no good to anyone as an emotional wreck, so she managed to get her feelings under control. She took a few more deep breathes then looked up at James.

"W-where?" she hiccupped.

"I don't know. But Dumbledore is dropping him off tomorrow. Dumbledore is also going to stop by tonight and give us more information." He smiled at her. She nodded, and another tear slipped from her eye. Her emotions were just in turmoil.

"Should we get him a broom?" James said with excitement in his voice only half joking. She recognized it as an attempt to cheer her up and stop her crying. She gave a small laugh and wiped her eyes.

"Oh Lily," she heard Mrs Weasley say. Looking up she found Mr and Mrs Weasley looking at them with tears in their eyes. "I am so happy for you dear."

"Thank you," she whispered.

"That means that he will be joining Hogwarts with you this year Ron," Arthur said to his son.

"You'll look after him, right?" James asked Ron. She looked over and saw the boy nodding vigorously with wide eyes. All the children looked a little taken aback by the scene. She became a little self-conscious at the amount of attention she was receiving.

"W-we have to get his room ready," she said. He nodded smiling even wider. He grabbed her hand to stand up, correctly recognizing it as a plea to go home.

"Molly, we have to head out, I'm sorry about the teacups," Lily said softly.

Molly quickly took out her wand and started swishing it back and forth. The teacups pieces all flew back together and within a matter of moments the full tea set was back in one piece and the tea cleaned. "Really dear, it doesn't matter. You have your boy again." She said smiling happily. Arthur had his arm around her shoulder and was also beaming at them. Lily nodded and felt her eyes fill with tears again but managed to hold them back. They said a final goodbye and then with a pop, they left the burrow. Back in the burrow kitchen, there was silence.

"Blimey, he was alive the entire time. Lily was right." Mr Weasley said in awe. Mrs Weasley only nodded while looking at her own children, thankful that she had never had to go through something that horrible. The moment was broken by Ron.

"Scabbers! There you are you stupid rat." Ron yelled as he bent down and picked up the rat who had just appeared. "Man Scabbers you missed all the excitement. Harry Potter is alive, can you believe it?"


	6. Chapter 6

It was eleven forty-five in the morning and Harry was nervous. He sat on the bottom steps in the entryway with a full view of the front door. He didn't know what to expect. He suspected no one would show up and to have yesterday been a strange dream. Amazing things just didn't happen to unfortunate boys like Harry Evans… no, Harry Potter. But regardless, just in case fate had finally thrown him a bone he was packed.

Harry had been packed completely since Dumbledore left yesterday. It had taken him about twenty minutes. He didn't have much. Some oversized clothes he had gotten handed down from the older children in the orphanage, a couple toiletries, and the books that Mrs Evans had given him. These were really the only things of any importance to him and the only thing he was unwilling to leave behind. That and an old, blue baby onesie that was safe at the bottom of his bag. It all fit in a small backpack.

Another thing that was also suggesting that it hadn't all been an amazing dream was the fact that the other people at the orphanage were acting strangely. Mrs Fitzgerald was casting him suspicious glances every time she walked by him and was muttering under her breath about the strangeness of it all. To be fair, it had been very a strange day, and while she didn't know that it was magic, she could probably sense something was off. The children of the orphanage, meanwhile, were all casting him stares of loathing and envy after hearing about what had happened. The loathing was not new, but the envy was. He was one of the youngest boys in the orphanage and was also hated by the rest due to being a "freak of nature." There was no love lost between the other children and Harry.

He had learned early on what it took to survive in this orphanage and had learned to look after himself. Mrs Fitzgerald was the most negligent women on the planet. She didn't care about the children she looked after. She was more interested in the social welfare checks she received. She was strict about making the children do chores, especially Harry as the youngest and most easily managed child, and she made sure the children went to school, but that was the extent of her guidance as she truly did not care. And that was all the opportunity that the children needed to run havoc.

Harry was a bright and soft-spoken child, and pretty early on a thanks to a few good influences like Mrs Evans, some of his teachers, and his books, he learned the difference between right and wrong. He also learned that sometimes to protect himself he needed to enter that grey area that existed between right and wrong. For instance, Harry got into quite a few fights in the orphanage. There was a gang of boys, mostly made up of the older boys in the orphanage that were known around town for being delinquents. Humphreys was the boy in charge of the gang and was seven years older than Harry. He ran a tight ship and had organised a very systematic bullying routine in the orphanage and outside of it. Everyone in town knew that he was trouble, but most people either cowed or avoided him. Most people were not Harry though. Harry did not have the luxury of ignoring him because he lived with him, he also didn't bow down as Humphreys wanted.

Harry had established early that he did not want to join their gang and was not interested in running around the neighbourhood terrorizing people. Unfortunately, that made him a favourite target for the beatings. It also had the unwanted effect of making him a bit of a loner since no one wanted to face the same treatment. It did have the advantageous effect of making him incredibly fast and tough. There were few eleven-year-old boys who had the endurance and speed to match Harry, not to mention the amount of experience in scraps and fights as Harry. This is where that grey zone came in to play. He knew fighting was wrong and that violence should not be the answer, but he also knew that if he didn't fight, he would probably die from the beatings the older boys doled out.

Harry sighed on the steps remembering the painful beating, the frightened nights of hiding and the unmistakable rage towards the other children that he had experienced throughout his young life in this house. Mrs Fitzgerald who was passing at the time gave him a sharp look at his sigh. Again, throwing him a suspicious glance. She was still on edge after the meeting with Professor Dumbledore yesterday and the events that followed.

An hour after the door closed on professor Dumbledore, the phone had rung. Social Services were calling stating that Harry's biological parents had been found and that they were interested in taking custody. Mrs Fitzgerald who was already reeling from the strange encounter with Dumbledore was immediately on edge. She was always very contrite whenever she had to deal with the government because they were the ones that provided her with the fat cheques that were the sole reason that she worked in this godforsaken dump. She was very complacent when they faxed over several documents and had her sign them and fax them back. After a shocking forty minutes, the documents were finished, and her nerves were very frazzled. The entire process was done, and Harry was tomorrow going to be in the custody of Mrs Lily Potter and Mr James Potter. Not that anyone knew who they were. The entire process happened so fast and so efficiently that Mrs Fitzgerald had no chance till after to marvel at the absurdity of the fact that for once in her life the government _HAD_ been fast and efficient.

The entire day had made Mrs Fitgerald very wary of Harry because she did not trust the government. And so, she kept chancing suspicious glances at the person who was at the centre of all the strangeness. A Mr Harry Evans… no, Harry Potter. But Harry was ignoring her and really there was nothing that she could do to change anything at this point. Harry was leaving the orphanage today.

For Harry, the feeling of disbelief was echoed. He could not believe that this was happening, and he was going to meet his real parents. Another feeling was also swelling inside of him, the feeling of hope and happiness that had been deeply buried for a month was starting to bloom in his chest. The kind of happiness that he hadn't felt since Mrs Evans had died. The kind of hope that every orphan has. The hope and happiness at the prospect of having a family. Harry could barely stifle his nervous energy.

The feeling was however snuffed out quick as Humphrey and his gang came sauntering into the entryway from the living room. Humphrey sneered at him. "Hope you don't think that these people that are calling themselves your parents are actually going to keep you?" He barked a harsh laugh. "Listen up you little freak, this happens all the time, a kid gets picked up and taken to a home, but they never get to stay there long. The parents get tired of the little problem child fast. You will be back here before you have the chance to unpack a single thing. And considering how little you own, that's not going to take long."

Harry sat and glared. He didn't have much of a retort to muster because truthfully, he was scared that his parents wouldn't like him and would want to send him back.

"These rules especially apply to you," Humphrey continued. "You are the most freaky, troubled, brat that has ever lived. Problems follow you like a magnet and your parents will drop you faster than you can blink." He cackled.

"I'm not a freak!" Harry protested. Until Dumbledore's visit yesterday he also thought he was a bit of a freak. Such strange things would happen around him that he began to think that there really wasn't another word for it. But now he knew better, he was magic.

"Oh please, you are the king of freaks," Humphrey snarled. "you will never belong anywhere!"

Harry felt his face flush and his anger rise.

"You are an idiot Humphrey, and you are just jealous because I am leaving, and you aren't. I get a chance, and you don't!" Harry could tell he had struck a cord. Humphreys face lost the smirk and changed into a look of fury. His eyes took on that steely glint that he got right before he punched you hard.

"You little shit!" he yelled and raised his fist. But before he could let loose the punch there was a noise from behind the door.

 _BOOM, BOOM, BOOM_

Whoever was knocking had quite the impact. All the boys froze and stared at the door. Mrs Fitzgerald was heard scurrying to the door from somewhere inside the house. She came into view and moved to the door while muttering to herself. She got to the door and looked through the peephole. She moved back and had a confused look on her face but opened the door anyway.

As soon as the door opened Harry realised why she had been confused. There was no way she would have been able to see this man. The best she could have seen would be some brown of a jacket. Because the man on the other side of the door had to be the biggest man in the world. He was extremely tall and was very wide. He towered over everyone in the entryway by a long shot. He had hands the size of dustbins and boots like a small child's sleighs. Looking up his face was even more concerning. He had long wild bushy black hair and beard. His eyes sparkled like black beetles out from a tanned, weathered face.

Everyone was too stunned to move and as a result, the giant man took it upon himself to crouch his way through the door frame and into the now cramped foyer.

"Hello, I'm here to pick up Mr Potter and bring him to his parents." The large man boomed. At that most of the heads in the room swivelled to face him. Harry swallowed.

"Ah, there you are! Blimey, you look exactly like your father! Oh, he is gonna be 'appy." The man's eyes crinkled at the corners to indicate that he was smiling. "I couldn't believe it when Dumbledore told me, good man Dumbledore, the very best. But he says he found little Harry and bless my soul I thought of how 'appy your parents are gonna be." The giant man let out a large sniff and reached into one of the pockets in his jacket and pulled out a handkerchief and dapped at his eyes. Harry was beginning to realise that this man personality did not match his frightening look.

"Er… I don't mean to be rude, but who are you?" Harry asked tentatively

"Ah of course," the man exclaimed. "Ye wouldn't 'member me as ye was only little at the time. The name is Rubeus Hagrid, you just call me Hagrid, and I am a groundskeeper at your new school! Dumbledore sent me to pick ye up and bring ye to yours parents! The man trusts me with these little, 'mportant jobs ye see."

Harry nodded and everyone else just continued to stare.

"Well then, dat everything ye got?" Hagrid indicated the backpack that was beside him on the step. Harry just nodded again. "Great, then should I give ya a bit to say goodbye? Yous got all these people out 'ere to send ye off." Hagrid smiled at all of them, but only managed to make everyone else more scared.

Harry shook his head. "No that's okay, I am ready to go." Harry stated. And he was. This place Harry realised long ago, held no future for him. He was being given a chance in a new world. He could maybe be happy there and have a bunch of opportunities. He could have a family and friends. He was ready to go and didn't need to look back. He grabbed his backpack and shouldered it, then quickly scurried over to stand beside Hagrid.

"Er… right then, let's be off." Hagrid said as the silence continued. He started his odd shuffle crouch out of the door. Harry spared one last glance over his shoulder. Everyone was looking at him. The expressions were mostly indifferent, only Humphreys face showed any kind of emotion. It was pure hate and envy that was on his face, and for one brief moment, Harry felt pity for the older boy.

He turned and followed Hagrid through the door, then let it swing behind him for the last time. With the resounding thud, it was like Harry could breathe for the first time. He followed Hagrid a step behind down the road.

"Well alright Harry, we will be 'eading to the train station, I'm not technically allowed to do any magic, so we won't be getting here how I got 'ere." Hagrid stated.

"How did you get here?" Harry asked.

"Floo of course."

Harry found it hard to picture Hagrid flying through the air like some gigantic superman. They made it to the train station and Hagrid handed Harry the money saying that it was better for him to handle it cause all the strange coins and paper confused him. In short order, they were on the train and off to Harry's new home. They sat down on the benches with Hagrid taking up a whole bench to himself.

"Ah Harry! I completely forgot." Hagrid started to rummage through his pockets. "Now I got to warn ya, that it may have gotten a little squished." He finally pulled out a square, slightly misshapen, box and placed it in front of Harry.

"Well go on and open it." Hagrid urged.

Harry opened the box and found inside a lumpy looking chocolate cake with the words Happy Birthday written in green icing.

"Now I know your birthday was yesterday, but I couldn't resist giving ye a cake." Hagrid beamed.

Harry felt his stomach do a funny lurch. He didn't realise that he knew so little about himself. He didn't even know his Birthday. The full impact of going to live with his biological parents hit Harry hard. He was going to be in for many more startling revelations.

"I-it was my birthday yesterday?" Harry asked awed. Partly because of the revelation and partly because a perfect stranger gave him a gift. Hagrid immediately looked awkward.

"you…er… didn't know?" Hagrid asked.

"No," said Harry slowly. "I always just celebrated on November 1st because that was the day I was found."

When Harry looked up it was to see Hagrid's eyes again start to water. Hoping to stop the giant from crying Harry thanked Hagrid for the gift. This had had the opposite effect as Hagrid let out great sniffs and dapped at his eyes more. After Harry had managed to calm Hagrid down they split the cake and sat happily munching. Harry contemplated again the vast amounts of missing knowledge that he had about the world and himself and decided to change that starting now. He was determined to learn about his family.

"Hagrid, you said that I looked like my dad, do you know my parents?"

"Aye, I knew your mum and dad since they went to Hogwarts themselves. Your dad was a popular one and did very well in his studies. He did get into a bit of mischief, but that didn't stop him from becoming head boy. And your mum was the cleverest witch in 'er year by far, and ye will never meet a kinder soul." Hagrid went on.

"What do they do now" Harry asked.

"Well your mum is a healer, she looks after those who get injured or sick. And your dad's an Auror."

"What's an Auror?"

"Well, they are the wizards that go after bad wizards and bring them to justice." Hagrid stated

"Oh, bad wizards like Voldemort?" Harry questioned.

Hagrid started violently, his eyes wide and frightened.

"Blimey Harry! You can't just go saying 'is name like that!" Hagrid whisper shouted.

"Sorry!" Harry squeaked. "Dumbledore said that was the name of the wizard that attacked my parents."

"Yes well, Dumbledore is a special case. But you can't just say 'is name you know." Said Hagrid now wiping his brow with a handkerchief.

"Why not?" asked Harry confused.

"Well...Er... you see… you-know-who did a lot of damage in 'is time, and people are still scared ye know. It makes them worried and still scares a lot of people to remember those times." Hagrid said slowly. Harry thought it was a little crazy to be scared of a name, but didn't voice that opinion.

"But he is gone now right?" Harry asked instead.

"Well, most think he is, but I don't think so. Whatever happened that night really hurt him. I think 'ees out there biding 'is time. I just don't think he is gone." Hagrid said with a solemn voice. "At least that's what Dumbledore thinks, and it's never smart to bet 'gainst Dumbledore."

There was a pause in the conversation and Harry contemplated what he had learned. He was getting the impression from Dumbledore and Hagrid that there was some worry about this Voldemort guy. That guy had apparently tried to kill him once already, so would he try again? Harry decided that he didn't really need to worry about it at the moment, he was more worried about what his family was like and about his new school.

It was a long train ride and the rest of it was spent talking about the wizarding world and munching on cake. Harry learned that Hagrid had a love for dragons as well as many other crazy creatures. Harry himself was particularly interested in the wizarding sport of Quidditch. It sounded amazing from Hagrid description and it was played on brooms. It was not until Hagrid said that the next stop was theirs that Harry stopped asking questions. Nervousness hit him like a bus. His stomach started fluttering, his heart started racing, and his face paled. He was going to meet his parents and he wanted so desperately not to screw up and make them regret finding him.

The train slowed and came to a halt in a small station, with the sign Godric's Hallow. Harry and Hagrid were the only passengers to hop off at this station. They walked off the platform and down the steps onto the main road, which they followed into town. Harry was in such a state that he didn't notice the quaint little town at all. He fell behind Hagrid while walking and tried to focus on calming his heart. He didn't notice when Hagrid stopped and subsequently he walked right into the giant man. Looking to the side he noticed that they were at the front door of a beautiful, large, pale yellow house. Harry jumped when Hagrid knocked on the door. He instinctively hid behind Hagrid. His nerves here wrought, and he didn't know if he could face his parents. He heard the door open.

"Good evening Lily," said Hagrid softly.

"H-Hagrid," He heard a light voice from behind Hagrid.

"And you to James," Hagrid said again.

"Hi Hagrid," he heard a gruff voice say. "Have… is he… here?"

Hagrid chuckled and look back at Harry who was frozen behind him.

"Harry," called Hagrid. "Come on out and meet your parents."

Harry felt like he was standing on the edge of a cliff and Hagrid was asking him to jump. He had the oddest feeling of wanting to run away and desperately wanting to stay. He finally took a deep breath and inched around Hagrid, his hands gripping his backpack straps.

The first one who came into view could only be his father. The man was tall and good looking. He had messy black hair that was identical to Harry's own mess on his head. He wore a button down top and blue jeans. His face was exactly like Harry's own. The strong features, the straight nose, the dark eyebrows that always made Harry look serious. He had on rectangular rimmed glasses and the smiling hazel eyes behind them were alight with hope and shock while taking in Harry's own appearance.

The women beside him came into view next. She was incredibly beautiful in Harry's opinion. She was gripping the man's hand and was wearing a long-sleeved T-shirt and jeans. She had very long auburn hair. Her face was heart-shaped, and set with a delicate nose, high cheekbones, and smiling lips. Her eyes arrested Harry because although they were red-rimmed, he recognized the startling bright green of his own gaze. Those eyes were drinking him in, desperation, hope, nervousness, and love were all in her eyes and Harry's desire to run disappeared in a flash and suddenly all he wanted to do was throw himself in her arms.

"Harry," Said Hagrid, startling Harry out of the moment. "This 'eres Lily and James. Lily and James dis 'eres Harry."

Harry couldn't help the small smile creep up onto his face, at the redundancy of the introduction.

"Hi," Harry managed to whisper out.


	7. Chapter 7

Lily watched in apprehension as the small face peeked out from behind Hagrid.

Oh Merlin, he was absolutely the most adorable child she had ever seen. But perhaps she was biased. The boy was nearly an exact replica of James. She heard James intake of breath from beside her as he saw this as well. The boy was small and thin, probably made even more so by the baggy shirt he wore that went down to his thighs and the baggy pants that had been rolled up a few times at the bottom. He had the trademark messy Potter hair that stuck up in every direction. He had thin lips, straight nose and the same dark eyebrows as her husband. He had high cheekbones like her but more of a set jaw like James. This was all more rounded out by a small amount of baby fat. The effect was nearly looking at a miniature James but for a couple of obvious differences. He had her eyes. Bright green orbs with long dark lashes that took in their images, bouncing back and forth from her to James before finally settling on her. The wide eyes, that were behind a broken pair of round wireframe glasses, looked into hers, they were soulful and nervous. The only other difference on his face was a scar that she could see peeking through his fringe. She wondered where he had got it from.

"Hi," a small voice whispered out of the little boy.

Oh Merlin, he was here, in front of her. She sank to her knees slowly in front of the boy and he watched her nervously.

"H-Hi, I have been looking for you for a long time," Lily managed to choke out. She didn't want to cry anymore, she had been crying all night.

"You have?" the boy whispered again. She could only nod.

"I have really missed you," she again told him. The boy looked down at his feet, suddenly looking shy.

"Er… um… I missed you too, even though I didn't really know, you know?" he blathered while still looking at his feet. Her heart tugged painfully in her chest. He had wanted her. He had wanted his mother. Tentatively, so as not to scare him, she reached out to his shoulders. He again gave her a nervous look.

"Do you mind if…" She trailed off while gently tugging him forward a bit. He was shy and didn't really know what to do, but he nodded anyway.

She gently wrapped her arm around the frozen little boy. One hand came to rest on the back of his head like she used to do when she had cradled him as an infant, the other wrapped around his backpack and pulled him closer. Her face went to rest on his shoulder. The boy was a little stiff in her arms but as she squeezed tighter, he began to relax a bit and his hand went around her back and his head dropped onto her shoulder. She had promised that she wouldn't cry but she was now unable to keep that promise. She gave a shuddering sob as she clutched the boy to her and buried her face in his tiny shoulder.

"I am so happy you are home." She said through the tears. The boy gripped her a little tighter and she rocked him a little. She would have stayed there forever except there was a trumpet sound to her right that broke the moment. Hagrid had blown his nose and fat tears were rolling down his cheeks. She gave a shaky little laugh and moved back from the boy a little. While keeping her arms on his shoulders. She took another closer look at his face again, while Harry gave her an embarrassed but hopeful smile, his cheeks lightly stained pink. She finally realised that perhaps the doorway was not the best place for this and rocked back to stand up.

"Come in Harry," she said while gently leading him. "You too Hagrid."

"No that's okay Lily, I got to get back to 'ogwarts," Hagrid said while blowing his nose again. "Alright 'arry?" Harry nodded. "Right then, I'll see ye in September." And with that Hagrid walked down the path.

Lily closed the door and kept a hand on Harry's shoulder. She saw James kneel on one knee in front of Harry as well. Obviously waiting for his turn.

"Hey Harry, I can't tell you how much of a miracle it is to have you here. Do you mind?" James asked tentatively while spreading his arms for a hug as well. Harry again nervously shook his head and took a step towards James. While Harry stood stiffly again, James had no such issue. He wrapped his arms around the boy and gave him a tight relieved squeeze. He let go after a moment and rested his hands on Harry's shoulders. James eyes were bright as he observed Harry.

"Well you grew into a handsome young man! And I am definitely not saying that because you look like the spitting image of me as a boy!" James joked in a wobbly voice. Harry gave a small laugh and grinned at James.

"We have a room all set up for you Harry" Lily broke in then. "Is-is this everything you brought." She asked indicating the backpack on Harry's back. Harry just nodded. Lily and James both frowned slightly but smoothed their expressions quickly.

"Right well, would you like to see your room?" she asked, and Harry brightened up while nodding.

The rest of the day resulted in Lily being the happiest and the most frustrated she had ever been in her life.

Harry was within her reach. He was healthy, he was polite, and he looked happy. But she couldn't tell for sure. It was apparent that for all intent and purposes Harry was a stranger and James and herself were also strangers to him. She just wanted to hug him and kiss his cheeks, but he was skittish and wary. She didn't want to scare him off.

They showed him around the house. Starting first in the living room and then moving to the stairs. They climbed to the second floor and showed the bathroom that Harry would have pretty much for his own use. They pointed out their room down the hall and then opened the door to his room. They gave him a minute to look around.

There was a queen bed in the corner. A desk by the window and a large chest of drawers as well as a small closet. The walls were the same cream as the rest of the house. The splashes of colour in the room came from a set of blue curtains on the windows, and the dark blue duvet on the bed. The walls were relatively bare, but that was done purposefully. They wanted to give Harry the chance to make this space his own. The only decoration was a picture on the dresser. A moving photo from back when Harry had been a baby. The three of them cuddling on the couch. James' arm slung around Lily while she held giggling Harry between them who was flapping his arms at the camera.

Harry seemed to gravitate to the photo and looked at it for a long moment. She wished that she could hear his thoughts and for the first time she wished she was a skilled legillimens. But the silence stretched as Harry continued to look at the photo. Finally, he swung his backpack off his shoulders and kneeled to open it up. He dug around for a minute then while pulled something blue and tattered out of the bottom of his bag. He finally grabbed the photo and walked back over to them with the blue piece of cloth in his hand.

"I guess I didn't really believe it you know. Finding your parents doesn't really happen in real life. Its more something that would happen in a dream, but I guess this proves it." Harry said quietly.

She took the piece of cloth as it was offered to her. She held it up and revelled a faded, light blue onesie with the embroidered name of Harry on the left breast. It was the same onesie that the little boy was wearing in the photo. She again felt tears well in her eyes.

"Your grandmother, my mother, had embroidered these onesies for you." She said with a sad smile remembering briefly her own deceased mother.

"Well, it's the reason that I am named Harry now. If I hadn't been wearing this I probably would have been renamed Joe or something." Said Harry with a small grin.

"Or Eugene, or Bartholomew, or Alphonse Phillip Augustus the third," Added James while wiggling his eyebrows, "dodged a bullet there mate!"

Harry laughed, and Lily chuckled.

"You held on to it for this long?" Lily asked.

Harry shrugged. "I guess I just wanted a tie to my old life."

Lily smiled again. He had wanted them to be in his life. It made her feel equal part relieved and guilty. She put the onesie down on the dresser again and realised that it was getting late and that dinner had to be started. She told the boys this and they moved back downstairs and went into the kitchen. She moved to the fridge and James directed Harry to sit with him on the bar stools at the island.

James then proceeded with some questioning.

"So, Harry, what do you do to pass the time?" James asked eagerly.

Harry frowned and shrugged. "I like to read I guess," Harry said quietly.

James' face took on a look of mock horror. "Oh, dear Merlin no! Not another bookworm! There is already one of those in the house," James stated while indicating Lily. Lily just shot a large smile at Harry and he grinned back.

"What about sports," James continued. "Do you play that muggle sport ballfoot?"

"Football, James," Lily sighed in exasperation.

"Well, not really," Harry said. "I have played it in school, but never joined a club."

"Why not? Didn't like it?" James asked.

"Ah… well, the orphanage didn't pay for club fees." Harry said quietly.

There was a second of silence in the kitchen. There was the big elephant in the room. And Lily was ready to confront it.

"Dumbledore told us you grew up in an orphanage," Lily said quietly. "Do you have a lot of friends you left behind?"

Harry just looked down at the table. "No, not really."

There was silence again.

"Who was in charge of the orphanage?" James asked.

"Mrs Fitzgerald," Harry muttered.

"You know that we don't have to cut contact Harry we can invite Mrs Fitzgerald over to visit," Lily said softly. The look of horror on Harry's face indicated how fond he was of that idea. Another thought entered her head.

"You don't want to invite them over?" Lily asked again, and Harry just shrugged again looking down at the table. Lily and James shot a look at each other that Harry didn't notice.

"You didn't like the orphanage?" Lily asked again. Again, a shrug. Lily swallowed past a lump in her throat. Possibilities and horrible images started streaming past her eyes. Images straight out of Oliver Twist of hungry and abused orphans, which resulted in her being on the verge of a full-blown panic attack.

It was James that took control of the situation.

"Harry," James started softly. "You are giving your mother palpations over there by being all mysterious." James said indicating Lily. Harry looked up at her worriedly.

"She is just worried," James continued. "She just needs to know you were safe."

Harry fidgeted for a minute, seeming to debate something. "I wasn't abused or anything. Mrs Fitzgerald just didn't really care about us. The other kids in the orphanage were older and the boys were kinda mean, but I just avoided them for the most part. I had Mrs Evans, and school was good, I was okay there, but I am happy to be with you guys."

James and Lily accepted the vague answer, but they knew there was more. They could imagine the scar that Mrs Fitzgerald's carelessness left on Harry. And with mean older boys in the orphanage, where Harry lived was probably never his home. And both James and Lily knew that neglect was still a very serious form of abuse. It accounted for the reason that Harry appeared to be the most mature eleven year old on the planet.

"Thanks, Harry for telling us. It probably wasn't easy to grow up there, and we will never be able to say sorry enough for not being able to stop that," James put his hand up as Harry went to argue that it wasn't their fault. "No Harry, we know that it wasn't anyone's fault save the evil man who tore us apart, but we still feel guilty on some level cause we are your parents. This should not make you unwilling to confide in us. We know there is more to your story, and we want to know everything there is to know, good and bad. But you are not ready to talk about how you grew up right now, right?" Harry just shook his head.

"And we get that and won't push you right now. But we need you to know that we are your family through thick and thin. We want you to trust us and for us to trust you because that is what a family does. We are strangers to you and you are a stranger to us at the moment, but you have to know that we are going to do everything possible to change that. I want to be your dad and Lil's over there wants more than anything to be your mum and that will never change. Do you understand?" James was looking at Harry in the eye. Harry nodded slowly.

"But a family takes work and so you will also have to learn to trust us. Family isn't always easy, Harry. But you must know that to us, you are worth every minute." James said softly. "We don't have to hear everything right now, but one day you can tell us because we are here for you Harry." James said again. Harry looked down to his lap.

"But, you barely know me. What if you don't like me. A lot of weird stuff happens around me." Harry said quietly.

"Not like you! Not Likely! I can already tell you're a great kid Harry! Any parent would be thrilled to have you!" James exclaimed puffing out his chest. "And as for weird stuff, your mother regularly gets annoyed enough with me to hex me and change my bogeys into bats! The magic world is a weird and wonderful one Harry, you'll fit right in. Although no one is quite as weird as your mother, so might want to watch out for her." James said with a laugh.

"James! I only used the bat bogey hex once on you! Don't turn him against me!" Lily said with an indignant screech. Harry snickered as James winked at him. Lily just huffed but couldn't quite hide the grin on her face at Harry small laugh.

"Now let me tell you about Quidditch!" James said excitedly as he turned back to Harry. Lily rolled her eyes and turned back to the stove. She listened as Harry asked questions and James explanations while adding her own commentary in every so often. The conversation flowed as they made dinner. They found out that Harry liked school but didn't really put that much effort into homework. His favourite subject was math. They found out more about Mrs Evans, who Dumbledore had told them briefly about before. Lily strongly suspected Rose Evans was her father's cousin, whom she had never met. Her heart clenched a little when Harry told them that she had died this summer, and she saw the grief-stricken look on his little face. She came around and gave him a small hug and promised him that they could go put flowers on her grave sometime. He seemed to perk up a bit. The conversation continued. Mostly about Hogwarts as a way to distract Harry. Supper was almost finished when they were interrupted by a sound in the living room.

There two whooshes from the fireplace that indicated arrivals by floo, and the sound of feet echoed from the living room. This was followed by the sound of one very loud, distinctive voice.

"Lily, my darling, I'm home. I am starved, my Love! And I do hope that great prat Potter isn't joining us, you know how much of a bore he…can…be?" Sirius was now frozen in the doorway from the living room to the kitchen with Remus a half step behind him. Remus also froze in the door when he got a look at the scene. Their eyes went wide and their mouths dropped open as they looked upon the smallest of the three in the kitchen. There was silence for a moment as both Lily and James enjoyed the comically shocked look on Sirius and Remus faces.

"Well Sirius, seeing as I am a great bore, I don't think that I will introduce you to your godson Harry," James said with a smirk.

"Harry, this is Sirius and Remus, they are complete prats and anything they say should be disregarded, for I am the most clever and handsome of the bunch and therefore you should only listen to me," James said with a pompous air that had Harry grinning again.

"No Harry, the most clever and beautiful of the bunch is me, therefore really I am the only one who should be listened to, like when I say dinner time!" Lily said with a wink and levitated the lasagna dish to the table, along with a big bowl of salad and a garlic baguette. Harry grinned and jumped off the stool and sat in one of the chairs at the table with James beside him.

"Well, you two coming?" Lily said as she walked by them, a while trying to contain her laughter.

She sat down at the head of the table, after a minute she finally heard movement and Remus and Sirius sat across from James and Harry. She started to serve the lasagna onto Harry's plate and asked him if he would like some salad. After his nod she served that too, James was already helping himself to the garlic bread and quietly rejoicing at the stupid looks on his friends faces who were still stuck staring at Harry. Finally, Remus broke.

"What the Bleeding Hell!" He said.

"REMUS! LANGUAGE!" Lily snapped at him. James just snickered. And Harry looked on with wide eyes.

"He looks just like you James. Holy shit!" Sirius said after.

"SIRIUS! LANGUAGE!" Lily snapped again. James transitioned into full-blown laughter, and Harry managed a small grin.

Sirius finally snapped out of his trance and smiled a million-megawatt smile at Harry.

"Well Harry Potter, it is certainly a pleasure to meet you! I am Sirius Black! Your most handsome and charming godfather. Don't you worry about a single thing! I will take you under my wing and teach you everything that you need to know." He grinned at Harry while leaning over the table to give him a handshake.

Lily paled, and James stopped laughing and groaned allowed. "No way Black! You'll corrupt him!" James said.

"That, my dear Prongs, is the point!" Sirius responded with a wink to Harry, who watched the back and forth happily.

"Harry," Remus said in awe, ironically the more serious of the two. "Wow…I…yes, it is great to meet you again. But how?" Remus said looking at Lily and James.

Lily, James with the occasional input from Harry gave the story. The dinner was an exceptionally lively one. Sirius and James were the loudest and turned the conversation into a competition to see who could make Harry laugh the most.

Hours later, they were all still at the table. Lily couldn't contain herself anymore and reached over and attempted to smooth down Harry's hair, which was even wilder than his fathers. In doing so she uncovered the strange scar on his head, she gently ran her thumb along it, amazed at the lightning bolt shape.

"Where did you get that scar?" She asked

Harry shrugged. "I've always had it."

Lily frowned. "You didn't when you were a baby."

"Hmm, well when Mrs Evans found me, I had it. Must have been Voldemort then."

Lily's hand froze. Distantly she was aware of James choking on a biscuit he was munching, Sirius banging his knee on the table, and Remus dropping his cup of tea with a yelp. But Lily had been transported back in time. She was seeing again from across a crib as Voldemort pointed his wand at her son and said the dreaded words of Avada Kedavra.

Slowly Lily traced the scar again. She noticed that Harry was looking at her worriedly.

"Umm… Er… I'm sorry! I didn't mean to say his name." Harry said nervously, thinking that they would kick him out. She slowly came back to herself.

"No, Harry. It's okay. I was just startled. That night I saw him hit you with a powerful curse. I should have realised it left a mark." As she said the words, she felt something akin to a cold stone settle in her stomach. A distant memory came back to her, ' _and the Dark Lord shall mark him as his equal…'_

She looked over at James quickly to see his equally pale and startled expression. The tension at the table, continued to grow until finally, James made a move.

"Hey, relax Harry. We aren't mad. It's just… a bad memory for us. You know what," He continued, looking over at the wall, "it's getting kinda late." And indeed, it was around ten. "How about we get you to bed and we can hang out more tomorrow. I've taken some time off work, so I get to hang out with you and your mum for the next few days." James smiled.

Harry smiled back and agreed.

Lily was determined to leave the implication of the scar alone for the moment. She drew herself up and said in her best stern mother voice "Now go brush your teeth young man, I want to see them sparkling! After, you will put on your pyjamas and go straight to bed!"

Her tone made Harry smile. "I have always wanted to say that," She confessed in a softer loving tone. "When you're done, I'll come in to say goodnight. Is that all right?"

Harry smiled again and nodded. He hopped off the chair and politely said goodnight to those at the table. Everyone smiled and chorused goodnight back to Harry. When he had disappeared, Lily turned around and smiled at James.

"James, we just had a family dinner with our son." Tears again threatened to spill as she looked at her husband. He slid over into Harry's previously vacated chair and wrapped his arm around her and kissed her head.

"Yeah, we did. One of the best nights of my life." James said smiling.

"He is a really nice kid." Said Sirius, "must take after Lily."

James flipped him the bird.

"Yeah, he's definitely quieter than James. But great kid. Definitely, one of the most mature eleven-year old's I have ever met." Rems remarked.

Lily's face fell. "He probably had to grow up faster in an orphanage," Lily said quietly.

"Hey, what matters is he is here now. He is still young enough that you can baby him. He is probably just a bit more reserved because he doesn't know us that well, but he will warm up." James said reassuringly.

She smiled. She revealed in the fact that her child was home and they had had an amazing first day. He was a quiet boy, but he laughed a lot and what he did say had meaning and intelligence. It was going to be alright. She would have to think later about his scar and talk about it with James. It was just too important to let be. But for now, they were all together and she was going to enjoy it.


	8. Chapter 8

For James Potter, the previous three days had been some of the best of his life. First off he had taken a week off work. He hadn't taken a day in years and now he had a vacation for the first time that he could actually enjoy. Then, of course, the main reason for his joy, Harry's arrival.

It had been such a shock to come home to that patronus. Then the following scramble to find Lily had his heart in his throat. When Dumbledore had come over and explained how Harry had been found and where Harry had grown up, it increased his restlessness. Then when he had heard that fateful knock the afternoon after a day of intense nerves, he would never admit it but he jumped a foot in the air.

Looking at Harry had been like looking at a photo of himself from the past. The main difference being that the lucky kid had gotten his mother's beautiful eyes. He also, fortunately, was more of his mother's temperament. It seemed like he had already forgiven them, which James didn't understand. If he had been forced to grow up in an orphanage and his parents just came by and picked him up one day, he is pretty sure it would take him longer to forgive them. Maybe this was just a projection of his own guilt though. He loved his wife and trusted her judgement, but the thought of his son surviving the killing curse had just a little too far fetched. There had always been a niggling of doubt in the back of his mind, when Lily would talk about their little boy. He had helped her of course on the chance that she was correct, but he had had trouble truly believing in miracles. This was precisely why he found Lily to be such an incredible witch. Her faith in love and accepting the remarkable was where most of the wizarding world failed. She had a great imagination and was still amazed by magic daily. She was a breath of fresh air with her faith. The only other person James could liken her too would be Dumbledore, and it seemed Harry had the same ability to love and accept.

After Harry had gone to bed that first night, James and Lily enacted their surprise party plan. It had been Harry's birthday the day before and they wanted to celebrate properly. Sirius and Remus were of course all in, and the evening was spent decorating and wrapping a couple presents that they had got for him. Sirius was completely affronted that they had not warned him earlier and said that they (Remus got dragged along of course) would be back tomorrow afternoon after they had bought "the perfect present that would blow all of yours out of the water!"

James didn't get to see Harry's reaction to the decorations because both Lily and he were awoken by the smell of bacon. They came down the stairs to see Harry scurrying around and making breakfast of eggs and bacon. He was nearly buzzing with energy. James wondered if he got into the coffee for a moment, but Harry's source of excitement was soon clear as he kept casting anxious glances at the living room full of decorations and presents on the coffee table. It was heartening to see Harry act like such a kid, he seemed to act thirty years old the rest of the time. Harry's excited smile when they had finished breakfast and James had announced that it was time for birthday gifts had made James week!

The day had been another amazing day. Harry had loved every one of his presents and acted as if he had never got presents before, which if James thought about it he probably hadn't had too many. A particularly memorable present was the snowy owl that Lily had gone into Diagon Alley to get. It was given with many promises from Harry to write to them when he went to school. James had given Harry all of the wizarding games he could think of. They spent an amazing morning playing gobstones, wizarding chess, and exploding snaps.

Sirius and Remus came in later to continue the party. Remus gave Harry a great book titled _Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them._ But of course, Sirius just had to outshine them all. He gave Harry a Nimbus 2001 world cup level racing broom. While James thought it was an amazing gift, Lily nearly had an aneurysm with the way she became red as her hair. Harry was introduced to his mother's temper that afternoon, but fortunately, it was directed at Sirius. Harry was allowed to keep the broom but wasn't allowed to ride it until he got lessons at school. Harry was still new to them so wasn't about to break the only rule his mum had yet to give him. Even if he did cast longing glances at the broom every other minute.

The following day had been great as well. They spent the afternoon exploring Godric's Hollow and seeing the sites. James and Lily had spent a bit more time quizzing Harry and trying to get more stories out of him. He had a lot of stories about accidental magic, which made James right excited. He knew his son was bound to be a great wizard, all prophecies and destinies aside.

They made plans to visit Diagon Alley that weekend and get Harry's school supplies. It would be good to go while James was still on leave. He had to get back to work the following Monday. For the first time, he resented his job. He wanted to spend as much time as possible with Harry and Lily, but it looked like he would have to settle for his two days off and evenings. To be fair to the Auror office he had asked for this vacation time very last minute. There were no regrets though as this staycation was the best time he had had in a long time.

The blissful holiday like feel he had been enjoying was interrupted on the fourth morning with Harry when the regular Prophet Owl swooped onto the window sill at breakfast. James paid the owl and unfurled the Paper and choked on his coffee as he read the headline.

 **THE BOY WHO LIVED! HARRY POTTER FOUND ALIVE! THE SAVIOUR RETURNS!**

On the front page under the headline was a massive photo of James, Lily and Harry walking through Godric Hollow the day before. Harry was walking between them as they walked down the sidewalk in the centre of town. The photo Lily reached up and ran a hand through Harry's hair as Harry was looking up at photo James, while the photo James laughed.

James groaned. He had had a fair share of publicity and was never particularly happy with his celebrity status. He knew Lily was even less happy about the publicity and their private life being splashed on the front page. This was the last thing that he wanted for his son, but he really should not have been too surprised as Harry coming back from the dead was going to be headline news. He frowned but flipped open the paper and began to read.

 _You may have thought it impossible, improbable and inconceivable, that anyone could have survived the deadly curse and lived, but today folks we have living proof. Harry Potter was found and sighted with his parents around their place of residence, just yesterday by this very reporter. Such an unprecedented event I needed to find out more. So many questions like where has he been? And what will he do now?_

 _Of course, you know the story. The night He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named attacked the Potters he came with a full force. But the friends of the Potters were prepared and fought to protect baby Harry. The battle that ensued was ferocious by all accounts. The most striking account was that of Mrs Lily Potter. She was protected by her child and little Harry was the one that backfired the killing curse upon He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Most people like myself thought that Little Harry Potter had been killed in the process. But Mrs Potter insisted that her boy lived and had transported himself away in an act of self-preservation using accidental magic._

 _Today her motherly instinct was proven correct! Harry Potter, according to an unnamed source, was found in a muggle orphanage by non-other than Albus Dumbledore. How the great wizard accomplished such a feat is still unknown, but the boy has been delivered to his obviously ecstatic parents. Harry Potter, from limited exposure, appears to be a polite and well behaved young man but was unable to comment. The boy did not survive the event unscathed, however, as there is a rather large lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. Could that mark be from the strike of the killing curse? St Mugos leading experts say that it is very likely that such a dark curse would leave a scar and that further investigation is warranted._

 _This, of course, brings up the question of how the child survived at all that fateful night? Perhaps he is the next Merlin, perhaps it is written in the stars, or perhaps he is just extremely lucky! Whatever the case, Harry Potter is set to start at Hogwarts this coming September and this reporter will be keeping an eye out for this up and coming wizard._

 _By: Esme Walden_

James groaned again. Merlin this was bad, as if his kid didn't already have enough to deal with.

"James, what's wrong?" Lily asked leaning over to see what he was looking at. He just handed her the paper. She gasped at the photo and headline, then like himself started to scan the paper. When she had finished, she also groaned. They looked over at Harry who was looking at them worriedly over top of a bowl of cereal. Lily seemed to be struggling with what to say. James just reached over and handed the paper to Harry. Lily made a sound of protest, but James just shook his head. Harry couldn't be kept from something like this, he would find out about his impending celebrity status whether they wanted that or not.

Harry's eyes widened at the photos and the headline. He then also flipped open the paper and read the article. At the end, he seemed to be struggling with something.

"I don't think that I am really super magical like these guys think I am." Harry said slowly "Am I supposed to be? I mean I don't really know anything about magic!"

"Harry, we know that we don't have any crazy expectations of you. All we care about is that you are healthy and happy." Lily started looking a bit helpless.

James tried to explain. "Listen Harry, you have to understand that what happened that night was unprecedented in the magical world. No one has ever survived the killing curse and that makes you a celebrity. Add to that, that whatever happened got rid of the plague that was You-Know-Who and you are probably one of the most famous wizards in the UK. You are going to have a lot of attention on you, and strangers everywhere are going to have opinions. But you don't have to listen to any of that." James said with conviction. "All you need to care about is school and writing your mum and me occasionally. Like any regular kid alright, I know it's a lot to take in, but your mum and I are on your team no matter what."

"Why do they even care! I don't even remember what happened. How can you even be famous for something when you don't even know how you did it?" Harry said with perhaps the first ever sign of petulance that they had seen from him. Unfortunately, James believed Harry had every right to deem this as unfair.

"You're right, sweetie. But frankly, some people just don't know how to mind their own business." Said Lily gently. "I know its unfair, but you can only do what you can and try your best. That's all we expect from you and the opinions of the ones that love you should be the only ones you care about."

Harry still looked a bit dejected at the idea of being famous. James could only silently agree, these next weeks would be a bit uncomfortable. Harry and Lily would stay out of the spotlight and within the safety of their home, but he had to go back to work. They would be clamouring to get to him. He just hoped that he could avoid that Skeeter woman. What a bitch!

In the days that followed the article, there was an increase in activity throughout all of Godric's Hollow. Fortunately, the wards and charms on their house were top notch and the increase of people in the town could be ignored by the people hidden away in the house. In wake of the news, the public exploded of course. Lily was forced to ward the house against the onslaught of owls. The wizarding community wanted a peek at their hero, but they were to be denied by the protective actions of Lily and James.

Unfortunately, Harry still needed to buy his school supplies. James suggested that he go and buy the supplies himself, but the completely dejected look on Harry's face just about broke his heart. Harry had been looking forward to seeing Diagon Alley from Lily and James descriptions. They all agreed to go, besides Lily reminded him that Harry needed to go to Olivanders personally.

It was a half excited and half nervous group that went to Diagon Alley on Saturday. They decided to Floo. It was an interesting first ten minutes that they spent convincing Harry that stepping into a fire and yelling a location was perfectly normal. His dubious and alarmed look nearly had James in stitches. Lily went first, yelling Leaky Cauldron. James' laughter broke free at seeing Harry's face as Lily was swallowed by green flames. Harry shot him an annoyed look that only had James laughing harder at how Lily the look was.

Eventually, they were all in the Leaky Cauldron and Lily was dusting Harry off muttering 'honestly how could you get so much soot on you.' While Harry just looked at her in exasperation. Again, the look was so Lily, James could barely restrain himself.

He did sober as he heard Tom the barman exclaims "Merlin could it be! It's Harry Potter!" Nearly every head in the bar turned to face them. Suddenly there was a scurry and many people came forward and started to shake his son's hand.

"Dedalus Diggle, Mr Potter. Such an honour to make your acquaintance!"

"Mr Potter, Aubrey Applebottom, the greatest pleasure to meet you!"

"Mr Cobhopple, Mr Potter! I was wondering if I could take a hair sample for an experiment of mine."

James decided that that was probably enough. "Alright everyone, we have to get through to go shopping, please make some room."

The crowd for the most part parted. One man did take the opportunity to step forward though.

"M-M-Mr P-P-Potter, P-Pleasure t-to meet y-you" Stuttered the thin man in a bright purple turban. "M-my n-name is P-P-Professor Q-Quirrell. I t-t-teach at H-Hogwarts."

"Hello, Professor." Responded Harry politely. "What subject do you teach?"

"D-D-Defense Against t-the D-D-Dark Arts. N-N-Not t-that you n-need it eh Mr P-P-Potter." Professor Quirrell remarked with a shaky laugh.

James shot Lily a look. This was the man that Dumbledore had this year? The man was seriously running low on options. Lily was keeping her smile polite, but James could see the strain on her face as she silently worried about her son's education.

"Right, well pleasure to meet you Professor Quirrell, but we really must be on our way. Got lot's of school supplies to buy." James spoke.

It took a while longer, but eventually, they managed to escape the leaky cauldron crowd and get to the back brick wall. James would forever hold the memory of Harry's face as the bricks unfolded and he stepped into Diagon Alley for the first time. His wide-eyed look of wonder was priceless.

James really did try to hustle everyone down the street to Gringotts's bank, but between the busy crowds and Harry constantly getting distracted it was slow going. About halfway down the street, they ran into a familiar friendly face coming out of the entrance to Knockturn Alley. Hagrid's smile upon seeing them was infectious

"Alright 'arry? Great t' see all of you 'gain so soon!" Hagrid boomed.

Harry smiled wide, "Hi Hagrid! What are you doing here?"

"Yes Hagrid, what you were doing down in Knockturn Alley?" James added with a raised eyebrow. His Auror intuition raised.

Hagrid looked abashed and scuffed his giant boot, he looked like the largest hairiest child that ever got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. The man really needed to work on his poker face.

"Oh you know, bit o' this, bit o' that. Needed some flesh eatin' slug repellent for the pumpkins." Hagrid responded. James let it go immediately.

"Well we are getting Hogwarts shopping done, but first we need a stop at Gringotts,"Lily responded while flashing a quelling look at James. She loved Hagrid and had even more of a soft spot after Hagrid had bought Harry to them. She had sent a giant gift basket to him as thanks and the largest sweater ever knitted.

"Oh well, I was 'eading that way myself. Mind if I walk with all of you?" Hagrid indicated.

Harry was delighted and walked a little farther ahead with the giant man. It made getting through the crowds a mite easier as Hagrid's size tended to part the way. Hagrid and Harry got into a conversation about Gringotts and how it would be mad to rob it. James and Lily only half listened to the conversation as Harry and Hagrid talked, dedicating more energy to keeping an eye on the surrounding crowd. Perhaps they were being a smidge overprotective but they couldn't take chances.

They finally made it to the bank and got inside. They parted ways with Hagrid then as he cited grabbing something for Dumbledore. Harry was wide-eyed as they went up to the teller and then were lead to the carts they used to get money. Lily opted to stay up top looking faintly green while James and Harry got in the cart. James laughed with Harry as they went rocketing down the caverns and took sharp corners in the cart. At one point Harry leaned a bit too far out of the cart for James liking and he had to yank him back in with a stern look that was lost to a look of joy when they went into a particularly steep dive. Finally, they arrived outside of the Potter vault.

The Potters were a relatively old family and had a vault in the lower levels. The wealth that James inherited was quite substantial, but Lily and himself were no slouches and with the success of Lily's magical pharmacy and clinic their wealth had grown. James again got to enjoy the wide-eyed look that Harry sported when the vault opened.

"Come on kiddo, we don't have all day to gawk." James ribbed good-naturedly.

"Are you rich?" Harry asked.

"Hmm, yes, WE are rich, I inherited a good portion of money from my parents, as you will inherit from me. And your mum and I work full time. Your mothers business was particularly successful. But that being said we don't exactly go around flaunting it or take advantage of it, it's just not the Potter way." James smirked remembering a time when he had done exactly that. Arrogantly flaunting at school, and the stern reprimand he gotten from his mother as a result. " _It is not the Potter way James. You may buy what you like with your money, but flaunting it is crass and in very poor taste and forgetting that hard work and sweat is what made this possible is the highest form of insult to that heritage."_

James felt Harry slide up beside him. Watching as he put gold silver and bronze into his money pouch. "What are the gold ones versus the silver ones?" Harry asked. And so James taught Harry about the wizarding world's money system. He also got a smaller pouch out for Harry and filled that as well. The boy should always have a bit of spending money.

When the got back up to the main hall, Lily took some of the galleons from James and went to exchange some of the galleons for pounds. They were taking Harry immediately into muggle London after this to buy some clothes that fit. James was starting to get unreasonably angry everytime that he saw his sons ratty, too large, sneakers with holes in them. As James and Lily waited in line, Hagrid came up from the caverns as well. He looked very green around the gills but undaunted by the dangers of Hagrid vomiting on him Harry ran up to him to say goodbye. They chatted for a bit a little ways off and James kept half an eye on them. He saw Hagrid pat his pocket and then give Harry a pat on the back that nearly sent the boy flying.

Harry ran back over to them and Hagrid waved before making his way out of the bank. They finally got through the line and then were back in the alley. They decided to split up to get everything done faster. James went to flourish and blots and left Lily and Harry at Madam Malkins. After they would meet up and go to the apothecary and Ollivander's. There was no reason for them to prolong their time in the open as James saw it. There were too many eyes and too many dangers for Harry. James realised that he was starting to get a bit unreasonable about wanting to protect his son, but he couldn't help it. He finally had his son back, and James realised he wasn't in the best of shape. Harry had lived a hard life already, and James was struggling to forgive himself for that. In time he would have to accept that he couldn't stop Harry from living and if the kid was anything like he had been at that age, then trouble was bound to pop up. But for now, he could content himself with showering his kid in love by being a smidge over cautious. Better safer than sorry, and James vowed never to be in the sorry category ever again.


	9. Chapter 9

I do not own Harry Potter. Have used some excerpts from the book. Enjoy.

Lily and Harry walked into the Madam Malkin's, with Harry lagging behind a little. Harry was not entirely sold on robes, thinking they were much stranger than the muggle clothes that he wore, and too much like a dress for his preteen sensibilities. He was acting a bit like a teenager who was too cool for school and it was weirdly warming Lily's heart. As they entered the shop Madam Malkin recognized him as a Hogwarts student and hustled him behind a curtain and onto a stand.

Lily saw that there was another young boy getting fitted on the stool beside Harry and hung back a bit to allow Harry to mingle. Maybe he could make a friend! She sat down on one of the waiting chairs a little off the side and listened to the conversation. Hoping that the boys would start talking, and silently urging Harry to take the plunge. She didn't have to hope for long though as the blond boy beside him started up the conversation.

"Hello. Hogwarts too?" asked the little blond.

"Yes," Said Harry sounding relieved that the other boy started the conversation.

"My father is next door buying books and mother's up the street looking at wands." Said the boy in a bored drawling voice. "Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully my father into getting one and I'll smuggle it in somehow."

Harry' face, Lily could see, had gone strangely blank face as he listened to the boy and she could tell he was unimpressed.

"Have you got your own broom?" the boy asked.

"Yes," answered Harry. "But I can't ride it until I get lessons."

"Oh, that's unfortunate. I can ride mine and my father says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for my house, and I must say, I agree. Know what house you'll be in yet?"

"No," said Harry.

"Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been – imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I would leave, wouldn't you?"

"Mmm" said Harry without commitment and with a slight frown on his face now. Lily had to agree. The boy wasn't really impressing her.

"I say, look at that man!" said the boy suddenly, nodding towards the window. Hagrid was strolling past the window going about his business.

"That's Hagrid," Said Harry happily. "He works at Hogwarts."

"Oh," said the boy, "I've heard of him. He's a sort of a servant, isn't he?" Lily felt herself bristle and she saw Harry do the same, but the young boy didn't seem to notice.

"He's the gamekeeper," said Harry with poorly veiled irritation.

"Yes, exactly. I heard he's sort of savage – lives in a hut on the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic and ends up setting fire to his bed."

Lily felt her hackles rise more and was about to stand up to defend Harry from the boy when Harry very calmly but forcefully stated: "I think he's brilliant."

"Do you?" said the boy with a sneer, finally coping on to Harry slightly colder tone. "Why is he with you? Where are your parents?"

"My mother is just over there, and my father is getting my books," Harry said coldly.

The blonde boy gave her a quick look. She pretended to be distracted. Harry was doing fine. She thought that the blonde boy looked familiar, but she wasn't sure where exactly. The boy apparently wasn't impressed with his appraisal of her.

"Hmm, your mother isn't wearing robes. She is wearing those bizarre muggle things, is she our kind? And your father, Is he our kind?" Malfoy boy drawled and sneered. Her jaw nearly dropped. While pureblood bigotry was still very much a thing, it was really not brought up in polite conversation. After the war had ended it had become a bit of a taboo topic. This kid was a giant prat!

Harry, bless his little heart, looked offended but mostly confused. "They are a witch and wizard if that is what you mean?"

"I really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you? They're just not the same, they've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families. What's your surname by the way?"

At this point, Lily was raving mad. She had never wanted to hurt a kid before, but if that little blond ferret didn't stop spouting pureblood prejudice at her son, she was going to lose it!

Harry also looked like he was going to have some words. He didn't really understand completely but he understood enough to know that this was an insult.

Madam Malkin sensed the impending fight and the tense atmosphere and finally finished with Harry. "All done," she interrupted. Harry hopped off the stool and walked over to Lily.

"Well see you at Hogwarts I guess." The little blonde said indifferently.

It took a lot for Lily not to tell the little boy off, she had become an activist in the ministry and many other societies against the prejudice of wizarding society. If it wasn't for the tense and confused face of her own son, she would have asked that little boys name. As it was, she let it go and walked outside with Harry. As they left the shop, she felt a tug on her hand.

"Mum, what was he talking about back there? What did he mean by the other kind?" Harry asked.

Ugh, she wished she didn't have to answer. Not that her son would really have to face much prejudice as he was a half-blood and becoming more famous by the hour, but she still wished she didn't have to explain it at all.

"Some witches and wizards are born to those of magical parents who are also witches and wizards, like your father and yourself. And some are born from muggle parents, but just spontaneously develop magic." Lily said.

"Like you," Harry said quietly and intently.

"Yes, like me," Lily smiled softly. "Some Wizards can trace their line of magic back quite far. Your father's family can be traced back to the 1600's I believe, and as a result, the Potters have had a great influence on the development of the magical world over the years." Lily decided that this kind of conversation needed some ice-cream, so she started to lead them towards Fortescue's.

"These people who can trace their family lines call themselves purebloods, and _some_ of these purebloods believe that magic should only be kept in these families. They think that muggleborns don't deserve to learn magic and therefore there is quite a bit of prejudice against muggleborns from these families. Older families of course, just by having lived in the magical world longer tend to have more sway in politics and such. The magical world, like the muggle world, relies heavily on connections. But this is just some purebloods mind, most do not think this way. Take your father and uncle Sirius as an example." She looked down to see Harry's face looking worried.

"The fact of the matter is, if there were no muggleborns, magic would have died out ages ago. If you only start having marriages between certain families, then magic begins to go stale. But that doesn't stop some people from believing that magic is strongest when kept in the family." Lily stated.

"But you don't have to go far to see that that idea is false." She gave him a sly smile. "Why I was head girl at school, thank you very much, and one of the tops in my class. I am an extremely accomplished mediwitch, one of the hardest magical fields, and a master potion brewer. On top of all of this, my business has flourished, and you know why?" She asked, and Harry shook his head. "Because everything I learned about owning a business, I learned from my muggle father who also owned businesses." She winked and Harry grinned.

"There are many who believe that Wizards are superior to every other creature in the world, and therefore they are not to be treated equally. I truly don't believe this. Everyone deserves a say, and everyone has wants and dreams. The little dreams of some are no less important than the grand dreams of others. I know this is a bit to take in, but you are a smart kid Harry and deserve the truth. Now... what kind of ice-cream do you want?" Lily stated.

After they got their ice-cream, they sat at one of the outside tables which they were lucky to grab. Lily also ordered an Ice-cream for James and laughed when Harry ordered the same flavour as his father. They sat mostly in silence and ate their treat. Harry looked contemplative and she gave him a chance to absorb the information that she had given, it was not a small topic. It wasn't long before James found them and sat down and started in on his treat. It also wasn't long before James noticed the slightly quiet atmosphere, he gave Lily a look, but she just shook her head to indicate that they would talk later.

They next went to an apothecary and talked Harry out of buying a gold cauldron when, upon seeing it, his eyes went wide. After purchasing the potion supplies needed for first years it was time for the final stop. Judging from the way Harry was twitching with excitement, this was the stop that he had been most looking forward to. They finally opened the door to Ollivander's.

The store was the same as it was when Lily went to get her own wand many years ago. The narrow, dusty shelves still towered all the way to the roof and were filled to the brim with thousands of thin boxes in various colours. There was that same magical stillness in the air, one of anticipation and promise. Beams of light came down in odd intervals from where it had snuck through the mass of objects covering the windows and dust motes seemed to swirl in strange patterns in the light rays. It was mysterious and magic.

"Harry Potter," called a voice from the shadows making all of the Potter family start. Ollivander with his large pale eyes, that glowed like pale moons in the dimness, came out of the shadows of the shelves. The man was also as disconcerting as normal.

"I wondered if I would be seeing you, such a miracle that you are here and returned to us." Ollivander said with his eyes wide.

"Hello sir," Harry said politely, recovering from his shock.

"Ahh… I see the rumours are true about the scar." Ollivander was now right in front of Harry and reaching up to brush the scar with one long pale finger.

"I am sorry to say that I sold the wand that did that. Yew and phoenix thirteen-and-a-half inches. Powerful, very powerful, and in the wrong hands…well if I'd known what the wand was going out into the world to do…"

He shook his head and Harry visible relaxed once Ollivander's disconcerting eyes were off him.

"Ah, Lily and James Potter! It seems only yesterday you were here buying your own wands. Mrs Potter ten-and-a-quarter inches, swishy, and willow. Nice wand for charms. Mr Potter on the other hand, favors a mahogany, eleven inches. Pliable. Little more power and excellent for transfiguration." He had directed his attention back to Harry while stating the details of their wands. "Well I say your father favours, but it is really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course."

With that, he pulled out a measuring tape with silver markings. "Well, now Mr Harry Potter, let me see. Which is your wand arm?"

"Er… I am right handed." Harry stated unsurely.

"Hold out your arm. That's it." He measured from Harry's shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round his head. As he measured, he said, "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Mr. Potter. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand."

The tape measure, which was now measuring between Harry's nostrils, much to James amusement, was doing this on its own. Mr Ollivander was now flitting around the shelves, taking down boxes.

"That will do," He suddenly stated, and the tape measure crumpled to the floor in a heap. "Right then, Mr. Potter. Try this one. Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. just take it and give it a wave."

After only a moment it was snatched away by Ollivander and Harry was handed another.

"Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy. Try-"

Harry tried - but he had hardly raised the wand when it, too, was snatched back by Mr. Ollivander.

"No, no - here, ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy. Go on, go on, try it out."

Harry tried. And tried. The pile of tried wands was mounting higher and higher on the spindly chair, but the more wands Mr. Ollivander pulled from the shelves, the happier he seemed to become, as opposed to Harry. Harry was becoming visibly more anxious as the wands piled higher. She remembered her own nervousness when she first went to purchase a wand. That dread that maybe there had been a mistake and she was not a witch at all. She was not worried for Harry in the slightest and tried to send him encouraging smiles when he would look back at them worriedly. However, even she could admit that this was taking longer than anticipated.

"Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere," Ollivander went wandering to a different shelf and his hand started brushing along the boxes until it stopped rather abruptly on a particularly dusty black box. "hmm- I wonder, now - yes, why not - unusual combination - holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple."

Harry took the wand and there was a noticeable shift in the air, Harry raised the wand and brought it down. Through the dusty air a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end like a firework, throwing dancing spots of light on the walls. James whooped and Lily clapped.

Mr Ollivander cried, "Oh, bravo! Yes, indeed, oh, very good. Well, well, well... how curious... how very curious..."

He put Harry's wand back into its box and wrapped it in brown paper, still muttering, "Curious... curious...

"Sorry," said Harry, "but what's curious?"

Mr. Ollivander fixed Harry with his pale stare.

"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather - just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother - why, its brother gave you that scar."

Harry seemed to still. Lily herself felt ice slip down her back and she sensed James stiffen beside her.

"Yes, thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember... holly and phoenix, a powerful and unique combination… I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter... After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things - terrible, yes, but great."

They left the shop, soon after. It was getting into the late afternoon and they had been shopping for a while. It was the combination of fatigue from shopping and startling revelations that made the group a quiet one on the way back to the Leaky Cauldron.

Soon enough though they were home. Lily suggested that Harry go up and put his things away while she started on dinner. Harry tromped up the stairs with his packages and Lily moved to the kitchen with James following behind. Lily started to cook dinner silently and James began to help her, equally as silent.

Finally, when she couldn't take the silence anymore, she put what she was holding down and leaned against the counter, shutting her eyes in frustration and willing tears not to come.

"James… they are connected. Harry and… Him" Lily said again her voice thick. "It seems that things keep popping up that tie them to one another. What does this mean?"

"I don't know Love." James said quietly. "I don't like this at all either. Especially when I think about the reason that Harry was targeted in the first place." He was referring to the prophecy. If it was true, Harry's future would be rocky.

"James he is just a boy," Lily said again in frustration, trying to express how unfair it all was.

"I know Love," James said again quietly

"James… I wouldn't be able to handle losing him again." Lily said in defeat.

"We won't. We will protect him." James reassured. There was quiet again for a couple minutes and didn't notice the quiet footfalls come down the stairs and stop at the slightly ajar door.

"I…don't know if I can do it again… I don't know if I can handle worrying about him." She was trying to express her feelings regarding the prophecy. If it did come to pass, she would have to watch her son again stand in front of that monster. She really didn't know if she was strong enough to watch such a thing again, at the moment she felt she would never be.

James just came over to hug her, as she willed tears not to fall. It took a while but eventually, they got back to making dinner. Neither noticed the other set of ears that had heard the end of their conversation.


	10. Chapter 10

Lily sat stirring very idly at a cauldron on a Friday afternoon. It was quiet in the house. Much too quiet and it was making Lily unreasonably sad. It was a cruel irony that she was facing empty nest syndrome, after only a month of having her child back in her life.

Four days ago, Lily and James had taken Harry to Platform 9 ¾ at King's Cross station. They had to take a moment to convince Harry that he wasn't going ot crash into the solid barrier, but convinced him they had. The awe on Harry's face as he took in the red steam engine was worth it. They had found him a compartment and got him settled near the back of the train, where there was a little more room as opposed to the crowded front of the train. That was when the water works had started for Lily. She was happy for her son on some level and very proud of him, but she also thought it was all a bit too cruel. She just got him back and now he was going to leave again. Surprisingly, Harry didn't look all that excited either and was quite solemn.

"Don't worry mum," Harry said softly. "I'll be home for Christmas and Easter. And I will write lots of letters."

"I know darling, I am just going to miss you. I just got you back and now you are leaving again." Lily sighed and tried to brush down her son's untameable hair. He went in for a hug. It was rare that Harry was the initiator of contact, so it came as a little surprise and made her tears fall even harder.

Harry and her had become very close in the last month of summer. Unlike James, who only had so many vacation days, Lily was in charge of her business and could take time off as she pleased. She still spent time making potions for the pharmagicy but she could take a step back from clinic duties without a hassle. She fell into a routine with Harry.

They were up in the morning to see James off to work, as Harry was a surprisingly early riser. Then they would then spend some time in her lab making larger batches of potions. It was mostly her, but she gave him tasks like chopping and grinding that would greatly help when he got to Hogwarts. Harry would ask her plenty of questions about the potions as they made them and had an insatiable curiosity. They had bonded over the activity and Lily could not have been happier to have a shared interest with her teenaged son. The rest of the day was spent relaxing together in the house, or doing some other activity. Lily had taught Harry how to use a quill, as she remembered that being a hurdle, when entering the wizarding world. She also encouraged him to read some parts of his textbooks, and while he did, especially the standard book of spells and defence book, he was a young boy and had too much energy to sit still for long lengths of time. They spent quite a bit of time in the garden as a result. The magical garden was a curiosity for Harry and he didn't mind tedious tasks like de-gnoming.

Rarely they left the house, and when they did, it was mostly to the muggle world. Harry's celebrity had only grown and it was odd not to see a reporter, or three, wandering near to their residence. Harry had been dubbed 'The Boy Who Lived' and was being hailed as the Hero returned. Several more articles had been written about Harry, some with wild speculations. Even Lily and James' friends were not immune to curiosity as the Potters received countless letters from everyone of their acquaintance during the month. the letters were filled with questions but also contained heartfelt congratulations for finding their son again, so Lily had much more tolerance for the questions.

It was James that took the brunt of the questions from the curious public. James had told her about his first day back at work after the Diagon Alley trip. He had gone in early to try and avoid the rush of the ministry in the morning, but the reporters must have anticipated something along those lines, as the atrium was packed with reporters waiting for him. He had been forced to give a public statement, sating that yes Harry had returned, yes they were sure it was him, no they were not aware how Harry had rebounded the curse, no he doesn't have an adult level control of magic, no he isn't Merlin reborn, and no Harry does not have a love interest, he's eleven for Merlins sake!

James was out in public the most, but he spent a large amount of time home. He went out of his way to finish his work and return home early, and never volunteered for raids or assignments, as he was want to do before Harry returned to them. As a result, they spent all their late afternoons and evenings together as a family and, more often than not, Remus and Sirius would join them.

All in all, Godric's Hallow had never been more filled and happy than in that final month of summer. Now five days after Harry had left, Lily was missing the noise. Her home was quiet and empty and it was bringing her mood to an all time low. She was looking forward to Saturday when James would be home all day and they could just spend some down time together. He could always lift her spirits.

Her melancholy thoughts were brought to a halt by a _tap tap_ at the window. She looked up to see the beautiful snowy owl that belonged to her son. She rushed to the window to open it and let Hedwig fly in and land on the owl perch that was on the side table in the kitchen. She very quickly took the letter, perhaps ruffling Hedwig a little more than she should have if the indignant hoot was anything to go by. She was just about to rip open the letter when she saw that it was addresseed to both her and James. She took a deep breath and, with the most self-control she had ever executed in her life, she placed the unponed letter on the kitchen counter. James would be home in an hour and she could wait.

By the time James got home, with Sirius and Remus in tow, she was a nervous wreck. Her fingers were weary from drumming, her lip had been chewed continuously and her hair twirled into a mass on the right side of her head. She jumped up as the floo sounded.

"FINALLY! Where have you been?!" She yelled at him while grabbing the letter. James just jumped, wide-eyed and threw his hands up in surrender, surprised at being snapped at, while Sirius snickered behind him.

"Doesn't matter," Lily continued before he could answer. "Harry has written and I waited forever so that we could read it together. Get over here and sit down."

"Harry wrote!" James said while rushing over to sit down. "Finally!"

Remus and Sirius also made themselves comfortable on the stools at the counter while she opened the letter.

Harry had sent them a large letter. It looked like he had spent a bit of time relaying his week to them. With trembling fingers, she began.

 _Dear Mum and Dad,_

 _I am sorry I didn't write before. It has been a pretty busy week and lots happened so I just wanted to relay it all properly._

 _First thing is first, I was sorted into Gryffindor._

"YES!" came hoots from the men around the table. Even Lily looked up and allowed for a large smile.

 _The common room and dorms are as brilliant as you described them, dad. All of Hogwarts is brilliant really. You guys couldn't do it justice. The moving staircases, the paintings, the ghosts, the great hall, the food, the ceiling and floating candles. It is the greatest place I have ever seen!_

 _I share my room with four other boys. Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnegan, Neville Longbottom (He says he knows you guys) and Ron_ Weasley.

 _Ron and I met on the train. When he sat in the same compartment with me. We shared a bunch of sweets and Ron told me all about his family. They sound brilliant and did you know that his older brother tames dragons! We have become really good friends, and have spent the week getting lost around the castle together (it's crazy big!)._

 _For the most part, everyone in Gryffindor is brilliant. Except for maybe Hermione. She is a Gryffindor girl and is kind of scary as well as really intense about rules. But she is nice enough and REALLY smart._

 _Not everyone is nice though. Mum, do you_ remember _that blond kid who we met at Madam Malkins? Well, I met him again on the train. He walked into the compartment I was sharing with Ron and introduced himself as Draco Malfoy. He had two huge kids named Crabbe and Goyle with him, they acted like a couple of bodyguards and have troll level intelligence. When Malfoy introduced himself Ron laughed at his name. Malfoy then insulted Ron's family, saying they were poor and blood traitors. Then he turned to me, held out his hand and said: "You will find some families are better than others, I can help you find the right sort." I told him "I can find the right sort for myself thanks."_

"That's the way Harry," Sirius whooped. "He takes after you prongs."

James just shook his head looking amused.

"Ugh, this sounds like the first meeting between you and Severus," Lily commented, looking at James. "Looks like he has started a bit of a rivalry."

"That's right. It was kind of similar," Remus commented.

"Well, Snape deserved it, he was a git," Sirius commented. Sirius's opinion of Snape had not changed much even with Snape's change to the light side. "And this Malfoy kid sounds like a right prat, especially if he is anything like his father."

Lily realised now why she recognized the blonde boy in the store. She was often on the opposite side of Lucius Malfoy when participating in activist activities that promoted equality in the wizarding world. With all of Malfoys free time, money and prejudice, he was most often her opposition.

 _Well, needless to say, he was offended and told me to watch my back. Then Ron's pet rat Scabber's (who I thought was pretty useless) bit Goyle when he tried to take our sweets. Not so useless I guess. Malfoy was sorted into Slytherin immediately (the hat barely touched his head) and we haven't really got on since._

 _Filch, the caretaker, also really doesn't like us. It was because of an honest mistake that Ron and I made while trying to find the transfiguration classroom. Dumbledore told us at the opening feast that the third-floor corridor is closed off 'for anyone who does not wish to die a most painful death.'_

"What!" the men said together. All of them looked at each other with wide eyes. It was rare that Dumbledore would say such a thing.

 _Ron and I were found by Filch trying to get into that corridor and he has been watching us closely ever since. He even gets his stupid cat Mrs Norris to follow us. But Ron and I aren't taking it too personally. According to the Weasley twins, Filch hates all students (and especially the twins)._

 _Professor Snape also really doesn't like me. In fact, he_ _HATES_ _me. I am not really sure why though. He is well known for being really biased against Gryffindors and favouring Slytherins, but I think he really hates me personally. He started the first class with roll call and when it came to my name he sneered it and said 'Our new- celebrity'. Then he proceeded to quiz me._

 _"Potter! What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"_

 _"Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I asked you to find me a bezoar?" I actually knew this one cause of you mum, but he didn't really seem that impressed_

 _"What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"_

 _I guess I should have opened the textbook more. Hermione's hand was up the whole time though so she knew. He then took a point off Gryffindor for my cheek! I only said that I didn't know, but that Hermione did and he should ask her. Then later Neville melted Seamus' cauldron and Snape took another point from me because I didn't stop Neville from adding his porcupine quills before he took the cauldron off the flames. I was concentrating on my own potion with Ron! And he said I did it to make myself look good. Neville had to go to the hospital wing!_

"That greasy git!" Sirius exclaimed. "He is using Harry to take out his frustrations at us."

"Those questions were really not fair to ask on the first day. They don't even make a draught of the living death until fifth year." Remus added with a frown.

Lily grimaced. She could picture it. Severus was always prone to grudges, with her husband being at the centre of most of them. James was scowling but staying silent.

 _The rest of the professors are better though. I like Flitwick and Sprout. McGonnagal is also amazing, but strict, it's too bad she doesn't show favoritism to us like Snape does for Slytherin. The afternoon after potions was better though. Ron and I went down to Hagrid's this afternoon. We had tea with him, and the rock cakes almost broke my teeth! (and he gave us a bunch to take back with us). But I did see something kind of crazy. There was a daily prophet at Hagrid's and there was an article about a break-in at Gringotts, but the vault in question was empty. Did you know that it happened the day that we were there?_

 _I have a theory about it. Hagrid was there that day as well and I went over to talk with him. He says that he was there on Dumbledore's orders. Hagrid also said that the safest place in the world was Gringotts, EXCEPT for maybe Hogwarts. You would have to be a really strong dark wizard to break in apparently, and the only place that would be better to hide something is somewhere there is a powerful wizard to stop a dark wizard. A wizard like Dumbledore! Anyway, I think that is why the third-floor corridor is blocked off, to hide whatever was in that vault, but I am not sure._

Lily looked up with startled eyes to James. All of them were looking a little surprised.

"Your kids a bit of a Sherlock apparently," Remus commented lightly.

James shook his head, "It isn't our case," he said indicating Sirius and himself, "but he is right. A dark wizard broke in, there was residue of illegal magic. But vault 713 had been emptied earlier that day by Hagrid."

Lily just frowned in concern. "Oh, Merlin he got your sixth sense of finding trouble."

The boys chuckled at that. "You may be right. We should just warn him to not go messing with that corridor," James added.

 _Well, it's just a theory. I have other things to worry about. Flying lessons are taking place next Thursday. We have ours with the Slytherins! I really don't want to embarrass myself in front of that snot Malfoy. Apparently, if his CONSTANT bragging is to be believed he is a world class flyer! He is definitely a prat. Dad do you have any tips for flying? I really don't want to fall off in front of everyone. Mum, do you have any tips to make potions better?_

 _I miss you guys. I really like Hogwarts but I wish summer had been longer. Its kind of weird cause I always wished I had a family to miss, but now that I do it is just making me sad. It's like Mrs Evans passing away all over again, but at least this time you guys can write back (Right?). Sorry for being a wimp._

 _Love you guys,_

 _Harry_

"Oh, Harry," she teared up again. James just smiled and wrapped an arm around her. 

"He is a really good kid," Sirius mused. "I was never that thoughtful as a kid."

"You still aren't" Remus quipped. Sirius just flipped him the bird and stuck out his tongue. They all laughed.

"Well, if these are the kinds of letters that Harry writes then it was well worth the wait!" James commented and Lily agreed.

"And can you believe it Lils, our boy's a Gryffindor! Just like his folks! Merlin, I am proud. Would have been happy with him wherever he went, but Gryffindor!" Lily allowed a large smile to spread across her face.

"And he is has made friends! It's great that Ron and him are getting along." Lily added. She was thrumming with energy and wanted to start working on a response right away.

"I am going to respond right away. You will also have to write him a letter, James. He asked you for some advice for flying. " Lily commented, and watched as James chest puffed up with the thought of imparting his precious flying knowledge on his son. "Also make sure that you tell him he is not a wimp because he misses his parents or feels homesick." She added, that advice would be better received from his father. James nodded smiling, but suddenly he frowned.

"What are you going to tell him about Snape?" James asked.

Lily worried her lip. "Do you think I should write Snape?" The boys shared a look.

"I don't think so Lily," Remus commented. "The one he is most likely to take his frustrations out on is Harry."

"If it gets bad we will take it farther. But for now, maybe just give him some good resources for potions and warn him to keep his wits around Snape. I know you don't like to hear it but Snape can get nasty." James added.

Lily nodded but wondered if keeping their history with Snape a secret was a mistake. Regardless she was going to heed James and Remus advice for now.


	11. Chapter 11

I Do not own Harry Potter. Enjoy.

After getting back from the failed midnight duel with Malfoy and the subsequent run-in with the three-headed dog, Harry didn't feel tired. He was lying in his bed and was wringing with energy. The adventure and now the mystery had his mind whirling. Not to mention that he was now on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. He really couldn't wait to tell his dad about that, he knew his dad would be over the moon. He also wanted to tell him about the "dog" and the trapdoor, but he knew he couldn't.

His parents had been so worried that night after Diagon Alley and the 'incident' with him getting his wand. His mum had been close to hysterics and his dad had looked shaky. He remembered their words, especially his mums; "I… don't know if I can do it again… I don't know if I can handle worrying about him."

Following his last letter, his parents had responded, and his dad had specifically warned him against getting into trouble in the third-floor corridor. It took all of a week for Harry to completely break his silent promise to his parents that he would stay away from the third-floor corridor. Of course, tonight was an accident, they had been trying to escape Filch. But another element had been added to the mystery of the third-floor and Harry found himself mulling over the information. He was sure that Ron would also be curious.

The result was that Harry was not comfortable sharing what he had learned with his parents. He didn't want to worry them, and on some deeply subconscious level, he didn't want them to regret finding him. He didn't want them to send him back to the orphanage. He knew that they wouldn't, but he also had seen children come and go in the foster system and it had left a lasting impression. He couldn't disappoint them.

Harry decided that he wasn't going to get any sleep and got up from his bed. Silently he rummaged in his book bag until he found a quill and parchment. He then stole out of the room and went down to the common room which was empty. He sat down by the dying embers of the fire and started to compose his letter to his parents, with a distinct lack of three-headed dog and third-floor corridors.

James was the next to receive the letter. Sirius and himself had got off early on Friday, which was a rare occurrence, and headed home for a butterbeer and to listen to a quidditch game on the wizarding wireless. It was rare that they got to relax like this, and they were ready to take full advantage. As the game started and they settled on the sofa with some muggle crisps and a butterbeer, there was a tap on the window. James and Sirius looked over and James felt a large smile break across his face at the sight of Hedwig.

He jumped up and let the bird in. Hedwig with all the imperial grace of a queen settled and elegantly held out her leg, but only after James had properly cooed about how pretty she was and had offered her an owl treat. James eagerly fingered the envelope that had both 'Lily and James Potter' written upon it in their son's surprisingly neat script. He wanted to rip it open and read it but knew that Lily would probably hex him all the way into the dog house.

"Letter from Harry?" Sirius asked.

"Ya, I'm going to wait for Lily though, she will be home in a couple hours. If I opened it she would probably hex my balls off." James added.

"Pfft… James mate, she has had you by the balls since 5th year. Maybe before." Sirius snorted. James couldn't really deny it, but also didn't resent it, he loved his wife.

Sirius was a perpetual bachelor and enjoyed it. While Lily had tried continuously to make him settle down, James just enjoyed living vicariously through Sirius. But despite his bachelor state, he could tell that Sirius was also extremely excited at the prospect of having a kid around. Both him and Mooney had been excited at the prospect of being able to completely dote on Harry as loving uncles and imparting their infinite wisdom. They both had never considered themselves Father material; Sirius because of his bachelor status and Moony because of his lycanthropy.

Sirius had taken Harry's 'death' extremely hard. He had thought it was his fault and that he had killed his best friends' son. Sirius had completely spiralled into self-destruction. It had been a close call, he had nearly lost everything. James and Remus had managed to pull him back. James remembered how difficult that time had been. His wife in hospital, searching for Harry as per her request, and Sirius's self-destructive tendencies, all the while having thought that his wife was wrong and his son was dead.

Sirius had got much better but had always carried that guilt. James thought it was part of the reason he never settled down and had his own family.

With Harry back in their life, Sirius had really improved. He was taking his godfather and fun uncle role very seriously (no pun intended). He and Harry got on like a house on fire and Sirius had also exchanged a letter with Harry. He had told James that his letter was filled with prank ideas to permanently maim the Malfoy kid and all the best tips for getting witches, but James knew he was just telling Harry stories and liked to hear back from the kid. But it did get Lily riled.

"How do you think he's doing?" Sirius asked.

"Well, we've only had that one letter. But I'm sure he is doing fine. He's in Gryffindor so that's a bonus. Can't go wrong with making friends. Glad he has found Ron though. The Weasleys are great." James added.

"Seemed to make a lot of enemies in a pretty quick time. I can't believe Snivellus." Sirius added with a grimace.

"Ugh, I try not to think about Snape teaching my kid. I think your right though, he will probably take out his animosity for me out on Harry, doesn't help that the kid is like a physical clone of me." James added.

James had very complicated feelings in regards to Snape. James was one of the few people who knew about Snape's true motives and as a result, had a greater understanding of the man than most. It was an uncomfortable situation for both Snape and himself. Only Lily and Dumbledore also knew, but he suspected that Remus had an idea. Snape loved James' wife with his whole being.

He knew that this was the real reason that Snape and himself hadn't got on when they went to Hogwarts. It was in part that Snape was a Slytherin salivating over the dark arts, and he was a quintessential egotistical Gryffindor lad. But there was always that unspoken undercurrent of extra friction over their mutual infatuation with Lily. It was never confirmed until later when Lily had told him about Snape's confession, but it had made them butt heads during school. James had 'won' in the end, Lily had chosen him. He had therefore always felt justified in hating Snape during the war. But then Snape had changed sides to save her life, albeit he was the one to have put them in particular danger in the first place.

He had to re-evaluate. And he came to the conclusion that he had a greater understanding of Snape and actually was impressed with the man. The man loved Lily and James could understand the sentiment perfectly. Then what was he to do with such information? He decided on nothing. There was nothing he could do. Snape would always resent him, so any kind of reconciliation would just aggravate the bitter man.

He had only met Snape once after the war. He had been with Lily at the time. They had walked into an apothecary and Snape had been at the counter also collecting his orders. It was like time had frozen. Snape's eyes had widened and they had settled on Lily. James had kept his eyes on Snape and had seen the complex feelings flash on his face. Finally, Lily had moved forward and slowly wrapped her arms around his neck for a hug. It had only been a second and then she had stepped back and said a quiet 'thank you.'

Snape had closed his eyes during the hug but had stayed silent. He had then opened his eyes and seemed to be searching for something from Lily. Whatever it was, he didn't find it and the moment was interrupted by the shop keeper coming back into the room with packages. Snape scooped up the packages and had swept away from them. He had very briefly met James eyes as he had walked out. Snape had sneered, but all James could do was nod solemnly. It seemed to take Snape by surprise because he had rushed past quicker.

He didn't know what he was going to do if Snape continued to be a giant prat to his son. Harry had enough issues besides a vengeful teacher. Snape's grudge was the part of the reason that he also still held feelings of detest for Snape. He suspected that Snape didn't hold a grudge because Lily had chosen him, but because James and co were part of the reason the angry teenager was driven towards the dark arts, towards Voldemort, and away from Lily. Snape had turned to the dark arts to gain power, according to Lily, but James had continuously undermined him and his skills as a wizard. The cherry on top was that in the end, he was the one to turn Lily's head, and Lily hadn't even been able to look at Snape.

James thought this grudge was unjustified. James was not responsible for the choices that Snape made. He was a variable but not the person responsible. He didn't think Snape saw it this way. Snape blamed James and could not let go, and therefore James also couldn't quite let go, despite his new grudging respect for the man.

It was a complicated feeling that had many tangles, and he didn't think that it would ever be truly unknotted. But it did remind him continuously never to take his lovely wife for granted. There was another man ready and waiting for her if he screwed up, so he kept on his toes. And speaking of his wife.

It had been an hour or so since they had received the letter and Lily had returned.

"Lils, Harry wrote," James said waving the letter. She squealed and quickly put down her bags on the kitchen counter, while Sirius got up and turned the wireless down. Lily came into the den and sat on the arm of the large, comfy armchair that James occupied.

"Wait, let's call Moony!" Sirius said and made his way instead to the fireplace. Within a minute Moony was coming through the fireplace and looking excited as well. He sat down next to Sirius on the sofa, grabbing one of the unopened butterbeers on the table in the process. Now that everyone was comfortable, James opened the letter and began to read.

 _Dear Mum and Dad,_

 _I have something to tell you that I am not sure you are going to be exactly happy about, especially you, mum._

"Oh no," Lily said looking worried. Sirius just laughed.

 _I guess I'll just tell you from the beginning. The week was really good and I am finally starting to find my way around the castle. There is a lot of homework though and that's why I was looking forward to flying lessons. Especially because you gave me so many great tips dad._

 _By the way, I was forced to share them with all the Gryffindors! Hermione nearly stole my letter because she wanted to read it so many times. She was nervous I think, she had been reading Quidditch through the Ages all week._

 _Anyway, the morning of, Neville received a Remembrall from his gran. He has a bit of trouble with remembering things. It turned red immediately, except he couldn't remember what he forgot!_

James, Sirius and Remus burst into Laughter and even Lily chuckled. When they had settled he continued.

 _We didn't notice that Malfoy had come over and had snatched the ball from Neville. We told him to give it back but it took McGonagall coming over to make him hand it over._

 _Flying lesson were pretty much right after. We went down to the pitch and Madam Hooch made us first command the brooms up. Mine came up right way! But almost everyone else's stayed on the ground._

"That's my boy!" James whooped. While Sirius and Remus clapped and hooted.

"Ugh, I never got a handle on that skill," Lily complained from his side. She was not one for flying but had become a Quidditch fan over the years thanks to James influence.

 _We were taught how to mount and Madam Hooch told Malfoy he had been doing it wrong the whole time, HA! Then we were about to kick off and hover but Neville went too early. He went way too high and lost control of the broom. He fell and broke his wrist, it was a loud crack (ugh). Madam Hooch had to take him to the hospital wing and told us that if she caught any of us in the air then we would get expelled._

"Man, that's two for two letters in which Neville goes to the hospital wing," Sirius exclaimed.

"Poor Neville." Lily sighed. "Maybe I'll send a letter, he probably needs to have his spirits lifted."

Lily was Nevilles godmother and would spend time with Neville on occasion. She always worried about his lack of confidence.

 _After they left, Malfoy started bad mouthing Neville. We told him to shut up but then bent down and picked up Nevilles Remembrall. We told him to give it back but then he took off and said he was going to hide it up a tree. I couldn't do nothing, so I went after Malfoy._

"Oh, Merlin! He got injured didn't he!" Lily exclaimed and tried to snatch the letter from James. What followed was a minor wrestling match over the letter.

"Calm down woman! I get to read this one, you read the last one!" James exclaimed. Finally Lily gave up with a huff.

"Well then hurry up with the reading!" Lily just shot back. James could only give her an exasperated look.

 _It was amazing dad! I felt all my doubts melt away as I flew up! It was easy!_

 _I easily caught up to Malfoy about fifty feet above the ground. He looked pretty surprised. I told him to give it back or I would knock him off his broom. I lent forward and tried to ram him, but he got out of the way. He then said "If you want it, go get it!" and then he threw the remembrall._

 _I chased it and went into a dive. I caught it just before the ground and managed to land perfectly right after! The gryffindors were cheering, but then McGonagall came out of the castle looking really mad._

"Oh crap!" Sirius exclaimed, he was on the edge of his seat along with Moony.

"Dang, he nearly got away with it," James added. That earned him a slap on the back of the head from Lily.

"James that was really dangerous! He's lucky he didn't get injured!" Lily said sternly.

"I know Lils but relax! He didn't and the kid's a natural." James grinned proudly. "And beside I bet he learned his lesson, McGonagall caught him."

"You never learned your lesson," Lily grumbled.

James just flashed her a grin.

 _She told me to come with her and I thought for sure I would be expelled. I followed her to professor Flitwicks class and she asked for Wood. Wood is a fifth year and …._

James trailed off, eyes wide and extremely stunned he read over the next few lines in silence.

"James? James, what happened?" Lily shook his shoulder.

"Ya don't leave us hanging prongs!" Sirius called from the couch.

"If you can't read give it to Lily!" Remus said, also looking intrigued. Lily went to reach for the letter but James shooed her hand away. James cleared his throat still in a state of disbelief.

 _Wood is a fifth year and captain of the Gryffindor quidditch team. McGonagall told him that she had found him a seeker and turned to me! So I am now officially part of the Gryffindor Quidditch team and the youngest player in a century! So long as it's okay with you guys, I am going to be needing my broom._

James looked up with an almost demented smile on his face. He didn't think he had ever heard such exciting news! Well except for finding Harry of course but that was a different kind of excitement. James felt like his cheeks would split from smiling too hard. Sirius and Remus looked gobsmacked and Lily was pale.

"Gryffindor's seeker! Youngest player in a century! Merlin's saggy ball sac! Hahahaha! I can't believe it!" At this point, James had jumped up and started dancing around. Sirius and even Remus also jumped up and started cheering.

"Lily can you believe it!" James yelled scooping her up and spinning her. "Knew you were the perfect one for me, apparently our genes create Quidditch Superstars!" At that Lily finally smiled weakly.

"So there is no way you could be convinced to stop Harry from playing." She asked timidly.

James just looked her aghast, he also heard an outraged gasp from Sirius' direction. Finally, he sighed and let her down. "Lily I know your worried, and quidditch can get rough, but Harry is a tough kid and he will absolutely love playing quidditch. We shouldn't take this away from him, we should encourage it!"

Lily dropped her head. "Ugh fine! I thought I wasn't going to have to deal with this till fifth year at least!" The boys just continued their party. James scooped up his butterbeer.

"To the youngest seeker in a century!" James called.

"To Harry!" was the resounding cry, even Lily joined in.

"All right keep going," Lily said after taking a swig of an unclaimed butterbeer.

 _I think being Seeker is going to be awesome and I can't wait to get training. It's going to start next week so if there is any chance that you could send my Nimbus by then, I would be really thankful._

 _Other than that, classes are fun (except potions). Ron's doing well and is really excited that I am going to be on the team with his brothers (the twins are beaters). I am doing well too, and happy that I am not getting kicked out of Hogwarts._

 _How are you guys? Is Sirius and Remus still coming over and stealing all the food?_ (Oi!) _Is work still boring dad? Mum how did that new Murtlap potion work (Hermione was really interested in that part of the letter too, she really doesn't understand boundaries, or priorities)._

 _I am going to avoid the third-floor corridor, so you don't have to worry about me. Hope to hear from you soon._

 _Love Harry_

 _(P.S. Tell Moony to send me stories like Sirius does, I have a feeling that some of Sirius' are biased_ (Oi!) _. I mean really, he fought an entire platoon of trolls, singlehandedly, without a wand? Ya right!)_

James just laughed, his giant smile still in place from learning about his son's spot on the quidditch team. Lily sighed but grinned back.

"Looks like Hedwig is going to be carrying the broom back," Lily said. "Are you up for it girl?" Hedwig hooted an 'of course.'

James just gave her a hug, already planning on how to get time off work to watch the game.


End file.
